Brother of Mine
by UrzaTron
Summary: A stranger washes up on beach city with no memories and a gem in his eye socket. He carries with him a secret that the Crystal Gems have been trying to keep from Steven his entire life, but that will help Steven realize who he truly is in this universe.
1. An Unexpected Arrival

**Disclaimer: This is my first time writing a fanfic for any series, so it might suck.**

 **Disclaimer II: I do not own Steven universe. The only things I claim to own are my house, my car and all original characters.**

~~~OOO~~~ -?-

Floating.

'Why am I… wha…?'

Your head goes underwater.

You inhale something foreign. Pain shoots through your chest and you start flailing, looking around. _Light._ You attempt to move towards the light, but your body feels like it's made of lead and your insides are burning. You keep falling towards the darkness. The pain slowly gets replaced with numbness, and you realize what's happening. You're dying. As your struggling slows and your vision dims, the last thing you think is that you'll die without even knowing who you are.

…

The last thing you _feel_ however is something solid forming underneath you.

~~~OOO~~~ -Steven-

You and Connie were hanging out on the shore, watching the sun set as she played her violin for the both of you, while you both reclined against Lion's side. The Gems went on a mission to reclaim Peridot's limb enhancers (from the bottom of the ocean). and decided you needed to stay here and relax. You weren't complaining. You rarely got time to spend with Connie these days. It seemed like gem stuff was taking up all your time nowadays. You glance at the statue over your house, letting your thoughts wander.

"Hey Connie?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever wish you weren't an only child?"

Connie furrowed her brows and thought about the question you just asked.

"Well… Sometimes, but then I realize that I'd go crazy with another child in the house so… nope."

"Well, yeah, a little kid would probably drive me and the Gems up the wall too, but..."

"Besides, with only one child, my parents can give me extra love!"

"Haha… I guess so, but, I guess it's kinda sad knowing I'm the only Half-Gem in the world. I just wish I had someone to—"

"Oh my god! Steven!"

You jumped and turned in her direction. She was staring out towards the sea with her hands over her mouth. You followed her gaze out and for a second your heart stopped. **It was a person**. You hesitated for a second, then turned to jump on Lion's back. You were on the water in less than three seconds. As you approached the body, you realized it was a boy a few years older than you and three things became apparent. One, It wasn't a body, That much was made obvious by the shallow, crackling breaths it was making. Two, the water around the body was raised above the rest of the ocean like a bed and he was laying on it. Three. He was missing an eye.

Well, not missing exactly.

Sitting where his eye should be was **an oval-cut,** **Snow** **White** **gem.**

~~~OOO~~~ -?-

You wake up blind. Wait what? You move your hands to your— **OW.** You black out again.

 **Welp.**

You wake up blind again. This time there's a muffled voice in your vicinity. You decide to listen to the conversation to find out where you are.

"Will he wake up anytime soon?"

Another voice.

"He's stable, and he's relatively unharmed, for the most part, but we needed to drain his lungs and I don't want him up and about until the needle's out."

' _So there's a needle in my chest…_ **OH SHIT** _ **.**_ **'**

"Hmmmmm! Hnnngggg! Hnnngg!"

You hear footsteps rushing over, and suddenly you know why you were blinded.

There was a pillow on your head.

"What happened?! Are you okay?!"

"Steven, please, calm down. You're just making him panic more."

You can't see anything besides some lovely ceiling tiles, since the voices are standing at the foot of the bed but…You can sense something else nearby. It feels… warm.

" _It feels like home."_

…

Is there someone else in the room?

"I assume you heard me say that there was a needle in your chest?"

You try to talk, but can't seem to make your mouth make the words, so you settle for shallowly nodding to the currently disembodied voice.

"Hold on for one second please"

The front half of the bed tilts and you are greeted by a strange sight. An older woman comes into view, followed by a small, smiling, chubby boy. Followed by a VERY large needle protruding from your chest.

…

Congratulations. You've lost consciousness three times today.

~~~OOO~~~ -?-

You wake up not blind. That's an improvement.

You look down, and thankfully, the needle is gone from your chest. You also see the boy from before sitting in the chair with an older man next to him. Probably his dad…

It's kinda funny, how you can tell soooo much about OTHER people, yet you have no clue what your name even is… You look back at the kid. He's staring at you now. You look at his father... Great, He's staring too.

"Um… Hi?"

The son smiles and looks like he wants to speak, but the man places his hand on his shoulder and clears his throat.

"Um, Hey… buddy. Glad to see you're up. Me and Shtoo-ball here were worried sick about you. I almost had a heart attack when he brought you to the wash!"

Wait, Wasn't the doctor calling him Steven?

"I thought his name was Steven?"

"Well it is but… lets focus on you for now. What's your name, little man?"

"My name?"

"Yeah, Your name. Y'know, What people know you as. My name's Greg Universe, and this is my son—"

"Shtoo-ball"

"Steven"

"Oh... right."

You look at Steven and wonder why he's being so quiet. He looks like he wants to ask you something. He's probably just waiting for his father to finish talking. That won't do at all.

"Hey Steven? Are you okay? You look like you need to say something."

"Welllll… I was just wondering, since we ARE best friends now, could you possibly… tellmewhatkindofgemyouhave?!"

…

…

…

"What?" (We're best friends now? Sure.)

"I'm sorry! You're probably mad at me now! I just wanted to know! I didn't mean to be nosy! I still wanna be friends!"

All this yelling was making your head hurt. You held up a hand and used the other to rub your temple. "I'm not mad, don't worry. We can still be friends. Now, before I answer that question, I have a question for you."

"Okay, whats your quest— Oh sorry. I almost asked another question."

Steven's father started snickering off to the side. You smirked, just a little, at that. This Steven is a strange one it seems. First off, you need to find out what a gem even is.

"What kind of gem do YOU have?"

"I got my mom's gem," He lifted up his shirt, and before his father pulled his shirt back down you could see a round pink gem in the center of his stomach. "It's a Rose Quartz gem!" he said proudly.

As far as you know, You don't have a gem embedded in your body, and you told Steven as such.

"Um, dad? Do you think I can tell him?" Steven looked up at his father and he thought about it for a minute.

"I don't know about that kiddo, It might shock him pretty bad... Tell you what, you can tell him," He turns to face you "If you tell me your name."

Hmm… this is gonna get... awkward. "I don't have a name, as far as I know. Well, that's a lie. Maybe. I probably have a name, I just can't remember it."

"Well, that complicates things a good deal kiddo. We need a name to find your parents."

"Now can I tell him dad?" Steven's practically bouncing in his seat. "He reeeealllly should know this."

"Uh… I guess, but break it to him gently. You don't know how he'll react."

"There's a gem in your eye socket!"

…

"Oh"

Greg slaps his own face. Steven pulls out his phone and shows you your face in the reflection.

"Oh." You start shaking.

Greg walks up to your side. "Whoa kiddo, you need to calm down! You're gonna hurt yourself!"

An icy feeling settles over your chest and you can feel tears coming to your eyes. The two people in the room with you notice and give you a concerned look. Suddenly, the weight of what's happened over the past two days hits you and the floodgates open. You realize that you almost died, and that you know almost nothing about yourself except thatyour parents are **gone**. The next thing you know you're curled into a ball with Greg and Steven holding you from both sides, trying to calm you down.

"I Almost died."

The shaking gets worse. You're struggling to breathe.

"I cant even remember who I am. The only thing I can remember is that I— I don't have any parents."

" _But you have a brother."_

You stop shaking. Where was that voice coming from? Was—Was your gem talking to you?

" _Yes."_

"I have a brother?"

" _Yes, and I have a sister"_

Greg put his hand on your back and started rubbing in circles. "Do you remember his name?"

" _Yes you do"_

"No, I—," It clicks. "Yes. Yes I do!" You start laughing as the weight leaves your chest.

A warm, milky light fills the room. You realize it's coming from your eye. Steven's gem starts glowing in response and you smile at him.

"His name is Steven Quartz Universe."

~~~OOO~~~ -?-

"Hey, I won't claim to know what's going on here, but I'm pretty sure Steven is NOT your brother."

You were sitting in your bed when Greg walked in and sat down. You smiled and looked for Steven, but when you realized he wasn't joining Greg your smile fell.

"Ahem" Greg started, "I'm not sure what you meant by saying Steven was your brother, but I guarantee he's not. I would know if he was your brother, trust me on this." He said with a wink. "I'm not sure if it was the stress or something that made you say that but you shouldn't just—"

"I know he's not my brother," You started, "but his gem is."

"WHAT!?" Greg fell out of his chair.

"Please, just calm down and let me explain. I don't know how I know this but my gem and his gem are—"

"Brothers"

"Sisters. Or at least that's what my gem is telling me."

"It's… Talking to you?"

"I think I came here looking for Steven."

Greg narrowed his eyes and when he spoke again his voice had an edge of steel to it that you'd never have thought it could have. "If you're trying to hurt my son, we're gonna have a BIG problem." He stood up and suddenly you could see that under that lazy demeanor and all that body fat he actually had a surprising amount of muscle. Suddenly your image of him as a Happy-go-lucky dad changed.

"I would never hurt him…" You said, hurt that Greg would even think that. "besides, he was the one who saved me... wasn't he?"

Greg's glare softened. "Yeah, he did. He's such a sweet boy. I just... don't want anything to happen to him again."

You took a moment to think about that. "What happened to Steven? Did he get hurt?"

Greg smiled at you "That's a story for another time champ. I'm gonna try to check you out tomorrow, then you can wait with Steven at his house and we can talk until the gems get back if you want. Now I just gotta think of a name to use to check you out..." He thinks for a moment. "Hope you like the name Daniel."

Greg starts to walk towards the door, but pauses for a moment. "Uhh… Just wondering, though, How can you and Steven's gems be sisters? In case you haven't noticed, Steven's a boy."

That's… a good question. "I'm not sure, But I think my eye is telling me."

Greg looks at you like you've grown a second head. "Your… gem eye? It talks to you?"

My **eye** , it doesn't 'talk' to me, like a normal conversation. I just hear flashes of whatever it wants me to hear I guess. I'm absolutely sure it said sister though."

"Well then, I'll leave you to your sleep. I hope you're ready for Steven though, he can be a handful"

"Don't worry about it. Ill be fine."

"Sleep tight"

The door closes behind Greg as he leaves, and you are left alone to your thoughts.

~~~OOO~~~ -Greg-

You're sitting in your van, trying to wrap your head around what that boy said. How can he and Steven be brothers? (or sisters for that matter?) You rub the back of your neck and sigh, then reach over to the glove box and pull out a picture.

"Oh Rose, this is all so much. You would know what to do. I can't protect Steven from gems and," You shift around in the seat. "I'm scared, Rose. This boy said Steven's gem made them brothers, and I can see it in his face. He's not lying. He really believes it… and he knew Steven's middle name."

You think back to the conversation with the boy from before. He truly seemed concerned when you told him Steven had been in danger before. You're pretty sure he won't _intentionally_ hurt Steven.

"Rose, I—I think he should stay. I think he should stay even if he isn't Steven's brother. He looks, and sounds, like he never got a childhood to enjoy. Besides, Steven has to get lonely with no one he can talk to. I mean sure he has the gems, but... Steven finally found another Half-Gem to talk to, and I don't want to take this away from him." You chuckle to yourself. "I don't know what you would do, Rose. If our places had been switched, and you were still here, how would you have handled all this?"

You're left thinking about how their gems were apparently sisters, and started wondering if Rose actually had a sibling. That would make sense, but… Rose would tell you if she had a sibling, wouldn't she?


	2. An Eventful Meeting

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Steven Universe.**

~~~OOO~~~ -Daniel-

You weren't ready for Steven at all.

Okay, so, quick catch-up. You were just released from the hospital about three hours ago. You arrived at this huge six-armed statue with a HOUSE just sitting in it's hands, and a washer suspended about 70 feet in the air on one of it's other hands. Upon entering the house you noticed some strange things. First off, he whole house was one room, apart from the bathroom and closets. Second, there was a lion laying on the couch. (Also, you're pretty sure that that lions aren't supposed to be pink.) Third, there was a big slab of crystal on the floor near the rear of the room, and a colossal door of solid stone with inset gems beyond it. Steven immediately wanted to hang out, and Greg sat down on a stool near the counter to wait for the Gems to arrive.

You were currently sitting in a cloud. Steven had asked you if you wanted to see what his mom's room looked like, and, Much to the dismay of Gr—Mister Universe, you followed him in.

"So…," Steven began. "can you summon a weapon yet?"

"Steven, I just woke up a few days ago with no knowledge of who I was. Even if I could've summoned a weapon then, I don't even know what a weapon IS now."

"Oh, that's easy, your weapon is just a magical weapon that you pull out of your gem. Except… I don't really pull it out of my gem. It sorta just appears in front of me when I need it. Wanna see it?"

"Sure."

Steven steps away and slides one of his feet backwards and suddenly, a pink glowing shield appears on his forearm. "Pretty cool, huh?" He says as he flexes his arm.

"I wonder if I can summon my weapon?"

" _No."_

'Great. The non-responsive voice in my head is back.'

"Don't worry, I'll help you summon it! We can practice on the beach! Garnet always says that without practice you can't get better at anything."

" _Practice won't help. You already know how to fight. You'll summon your weapon when you need it."_

'Asshole.'

" _You do realize I'm you, right?"_

You shrug and move your hand to your pocket. Pulling out your hospital release papers and… a marble? You put the marble back and start reading about the identity Mister Universe checked you out under starting from the note on the bottom.

 _ **Memorize the highlighted parts front and back kiddo**_ **–** _ **Greg**_

 **Name:** **Daniel Quartz Universe.**

 **Age: 14**

 **Eye color: Grey**

 **Hair Color: White**

 **Height: 5'4''**

 **Birth Date: 02/24/19— (The rest is smudged out)**

" _That's insulting"_

What?

" _Your name is not Daniel, Nor are you a Quartz."_

Oh so now the voice responds. Okay voice, if I'm not a Quartz, how can me and Steven be brothers?

" _You will find out in due time."_

Your gem itches and you move your eye-patch to the other eye so you can rub it.

"Hey you need to keep that on!"

"Why? It itches." You turn to look at Steven.

"We need to break it to the gems that you're a half gem slowly, so they don't freak out and try to poof you. Dad already promised not to reveal anything until you got the chance to say hi."

"Hey Steven, two things, I need to say. First, I apparently can see through my gem."

"Really? How many fingers am I holding out?" He holds out his hand.

"Three, Excluding the thumb."

"Aw man, how come I can't see through my gem?"

"All you'd be able to see is the inside of your shirt. You shift the eye patch back to cover your gem. Second thing I need to ask, what's poofing?"

"Well, if a gem gets badly damaged, they'll retreat into their gem to heal up. It leaves them vulnerable though, so it's a last resort for the most part. The Gems poof monsters all the time to capture them, but we don't know if half gems can be poofed."

...

Holy crap. You're inside a home of killers. You're gonna die.

" _Don't worry, you can retreat to your gem. You won't die. It's a lot messier though considering you're a half-gem. Imagine meat confetti"_

Your heart starts pounding as visions of them ripping your gem out fill your head.

"I think I'm gonna be sick. I need to go before they get ba—"

A large hum fills the air, then suddenly stops.

"Oh hey the gems are back."

 **SHIT.**

~~~OOO~~~ Greg

You look up as the warp light fades to see Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl standing on the warp pad (with Peridot riding in Garnet's hair?). They look around and one by one their gazes settle on you. Garnet is the first to speak.

"Hello Greg. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, G-Man, Where's Stee-Man?" Amethyst adds.

"Well, Steven's in Rose's room, and that's a good thing because I need to talk to you guys about something that happened with him at the beach."

"Oh my stars, He didn't get hurt did he?! I knew it was a bad idea to leave him alone!" Pearl ran up to you, shaking.

"No, no, God no. Him and Connie were on the beach playing, when Connie screamed and pointed out at the water. He turned and there was—"

"Malachite" Said pearl.

"Nope. There was a boy a few years older than him laying face down on the water. Steven, my little man saved him."

Peridot rolls off Garnet's hair, walks up and sits down on the couch. "So, you were just letting us know that the stev— that Steven was safe?"

"Well no," You start fidgeting. "I thought you'd like to meet the boy he saved from the water. Uh... the boy kinda needs to talk to you guys as well."

Suddenly you see the temple door open behind the gems.

~~~OOO~~~ Daniel

You steel yourself as the door opens to the house. You don't know why, but you find yourself filled with DETERMINATION. As you walk out into the room and see everyone staring at you, however, it all evaporates at once. Steven walks out behind you and runs up to the gems, hugging them all one after the other. Greg notices your anxious look and calls you over.

"C'mere kiddo," He pats the couch cushion next to him. "they don't bite."

Steven looks up from hugging Peridot. "Well Peridot bites sometimes, but she's doing it less often now."

"You have me to thank for that." Garnet says, while picking up a rolled-up newspaper from the floor.

Peridot sees the newspaper, hisses, and runs up into the loft.

"Um hi," you say while sitting down. "M— My name's Daniel."

" _No it's not."_

'Now's really not the time to be a smartass. Until I know my real name, I'm using Daniel. Besides, how do I even explain you to them without them trying to rip you from my eye socket?'

" _They won't try that, trust me."_

'Fine.'

"Greg probably filled you in on the situation, but long story short, Steven saved my life. I want to repay Steven and protect him."

Not your true reason, but you probably shouldn't divulge anything to them about how you two are basically siblings just yet. Besides, you really want to protect Steven, in case anything happens to him. Or does your gem want to protect him?

" _We both want to protect him."_

… Well that settles that then.

Pearl turns to you. "I'm sorry, I know Steven saved your life, and you probably feel indebted to him… but you can't protect him from the… trouble he gets himself into. You're only human."

"I think I can prove you wrong," Pearl seems irritated by that statement. "But before I go any further, I need you to promise not to overreact at what happens next."

Garnet looks at you knowingly and places her hand on pearl's shoulder. "You have my word that we won't overreact. Now show us."

Did Garnet… know about my gem?

" _Yes"_

Oh. Well then, Screw it.

"I need your help with a small problem I have. When Steven saved me I woke up in the hospital without any memories and with uh..." You pull off the eye patch and look at the gems. "With this in my eye socket."

~~~OOO~~~ -Steven-

You've been staying quiet this whole time with your gaze fixed on your new… Friend, (Brother?) when you had the urge to look at the gems. Good thing too. You'd barely looked towards the gems when you saw Pearl squirm out of Garnet's grip and dash towards Daniel while pulling out her spear. You dive towards him and just barely manage to get a bubble around both of you fast enough for pearl to ping off of it and back into Garnet's waiting arms, where she found herself in a tight hold.

"Pearl, stop this, we promised we woul—!" She began.

"NO! _You_ promised we wouldn't overreact! Besides, Hnng, I'm not overreacting! This is a perfectly normal way to react to seeing **HER**."

'Her? But Daniel's a boy... I think.'

"Pearl please," You say. "Don't hurt Daniel. He's my friend." At this she stops struggling and instead turns to argue with Garnet about him.

You look to the right and see Daniel sitting calmly on the floor of the bubble. He looks like he's fighting hard not to try and bolt. You are about to open your mouth and speak when he does it for you.

"Um… I'm a guy. I don't know who 'her' is, so I just— oh. You're a girl?!" He looks like he's having a small conversation with himself. "That explains a lot, thanks."

He turns to the gems. "Hey." He says, but they're still arguing. He cups his hands around his mouth and yells. "HEY!" The gems stop arguing and look at him confusedly. Peridot quickly peeks over the ledge before going back to whatever she was doing up there. "She says that she can hear you, and that she doesn't appreciate you talking about her like that." The room goes silent. Before you can stop him, he suddenly places his hand on the bubble and it pops.

"Huh, it worked, cool." He says while examining his hand.

Pearl speaks up. "She can talk?! How can she talk?! Rose can't talk from inside Steven's gem!"

Daniel stops talking again, then gets a shocked look on his face and starts shaking ever so slightly. He opens his mouth. "She says… She says that's because we weren't like this initially. She allowed herself to become part of me," Garnet sets pearl down. "To save both of us."

Garnet thinks for a minute. "That still doesn't explain how you ended up floating, very coincidentally might I add, off the shore of beach city. Can she tell us why you were there?"

David gets quiet for a moment again. "She says that you won't like this part. She says a large green and blue fusion helped us get to shore... What's a fusion?"

~~~OOO~~~ Garnet

You've called a gem huddle and are currently talking with the other gems (sans Peridot, who was currently shredding all newspapers in the house). So far the topic at hand has shifted to the small child and the gem currently residing in his eye socket. The only things you knew about the boy beforehand was that he had a gem and that he was no danger to Steven, but, seeing just whose gem it was, or more correctly, whose gem it still is, is making you doubt the certainty of one of those forseeings. You can see that pearl is about to talk again, so you refocus on the conversation.

"I say we bubble it."

"Pearl, No way! We can't just bubble a person! That don't sit right in my books. What if it was Steven being bubbled instead?" Amethyst being the voice of reason? Strange, but it seems to make pearl pause for a moment. You take this opportunity.

"Pearl," You start, steepling your hands. "We can't bubble it. Although _she_ is currently residing inside the human, we have to remember that first and foremost, _it is still a human_. We pledged to Rose that we'd protect all humans, and we won't go back on that promise just because we're dealing with something that we've never dealt with before. Let's see what _she_ has to say first, Okay?"

Pearl thinks about this for a moment before looking you in the eye and saying "fine."

You turn and clear your throat and the reaction you get is immediate. The boy turns head and looks you in the eye. Directly. Through your glasses. This boy, you can see, isn't afraid of the situation. Or at least, he's doing a good job of hiding it if he is.

"Let's talk" you say to her— him.

He looks at you for a second and then nods his head. He opens his mouth, closes it again, then opens it and starts talking. "She has a few things to say to you. First off, she knows you don't want to say her name around Steven and says for Steven's sake you can call her White Quartz."

You nod at that, then glance at Steven, who has a look of pure confusion on his face, but inside you're wondering why she said 'for Steven's sake'. You look at the boy. "Has she told you her other name?"

"Nope. Actually, almost everything you guys are hearing here is news to me too. This is the most she's ever spoken to me. She's also saying that she knows what your next question is and that it can wait until I'm asleep. She says that you guys can talk to her directly then."

Oh right, she can see the future too. Seems she didn't share that ability with the boy though. Next question then.

"So… what do you know about the underwater fusion?"

~~~OOO~~~ Malachite

You're sitting at the bottom of the Marianas trench when you feel your ears burning. This can't be good.


	3. Yelling and Feelings

**DISCLAIMER: I totally don't own Steven Universe. I do however own this Pop-Tart that I'm currently eating.**

Long chapters are awesome.

~~~OOO~~~ -David-

" _You need to go to sleep. I still have to talk to the other gems."_

'I want to go to sleep, but she's staring at me.' You look back into the corner of the ceiling, and sure enough, the little green gem is looking at you from the rafters again.

"That little gem? It's a worker class gem. Don't worry about it. It looks like an advanced version of the olivine class gems I used to— Never mind." You decide to try something. You look up at the gem that's still hiding in the rafters.

You call out to the gem. "Can you come down for a second? I wanna talk to you."

The gem stays still for a second, then slowly makes her way down towards you. As she's coming towards you, you look down from the loft. The other gems haven't arrived yet. You turn back around. The little gem is now mere feet away, shaking? You look at it— her, and realize that the glare she was giving you from the rafter wasn't a glare from anger, it was a glare from fear. The poor thing was terrified, but why? You stand up and walk over to the small gem, and while she doesn't move away, she seems to be trying her hardest to shrink into herself. As you reach out to touch her, you hear her say something, in a voice much too small to be her normal voice.

"Pl—Please, D—Don't hurt me." Your hand stops, and you look at the gem.

"What?"

'She thinks I'm gonna hurt her?'

" _No, she thinks I'm go_ _ing to_ _hurt her."_ Oh.

"Please. I'm so s—sorry for betraying homeworld. Forgive me, please. I don't want to be cr—acked or sh—attered." She starts sobbing and lets herself fall to the floor.

"It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. What's wrong?"

"It's you, isn't it? I—I've seen your gem in the history t—tomes."

You're unsure of what to do so you bend down and grab her wrists. She yelps and flinches, but stays where she is, and you lift her up to her feet. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. You're gonna be fine."

You give her a hug. She takes a few seconds to process this information, and then relaxes in your grip. After a few seconds she starts chuckling. She's still crying, but she's laughing even harder now.

Oh god, you broke her.

"Are you okay now?" She just smiles and shakes her head.

"It's funny you know. Before I came to earth, I never got hugged, or told that I was worth anything… Look at me now, my life's upside down. I mean for the love of homeworld, I'm being hugged by a frackin' D—"

The warp pad chimes, and the noise makes small gem jump away. You look at her and asked her if she was still okay. She nodded. You asked her if her name was Olivine. She looks at you for a second, then bursts into laughter again.

"Haha, that's a new one. An original Olivine? Nah, I'm not _that_ old, but Olivine is close, because I _am_ from the Olivine family. I'm a Peridot class gem, but I guess you wouldn't know that considering you supposedly died in the w—" Her words are cut off when a gauntleted hand clamps down over her mouth.

Garnet looks at you and Peridot and says, "That's enough of that topic." then proceeds to let Peridot drop to the floor. She turns to you. "Are you almost ready to go to bed? We still need to talk to White Quartz."

Peridot looks confused. "White Quartz? Don't you mean—" She began.

"I _mean_ White Quartz." Garnet said as she turned to Peridot. "And that is what you'll refer to her as for the time being."

You look to Peridot. "If you want, you can stay here and talk to my gem after I go to sleep. The other gems are going to talk to her, and you might learn something cool about me."

"Uh, sure. I mean if it's all right with, um, Garnet." She looks at Garnet pleadingly.

"Fine." Garnet walks towards the stairs before turning back to face you. "It's bedtime for you though."

You turn to Peridot. "Well, guess it's bedtime for me. See you later Peri."

"Heh, that's a new one too. See you soon, White Quartz."

"My name's Daniel, call me that if you want."

"Oh, okay, good night… Daniel."

You're left alone to your thoughts.

" _Are you ready for this?"_

Well… Mostly alone. You start listening to White Quartz, and she fills you in on what's gonna happen. All you have to do is sleep, and she'll take care of the rest. You get ready to respond, and an evil idea enters your head. You smirk.

'Don't worry about it, it sounds so easy…'

" _I swear to whatever god this planet worships, if you say what I think your going to say—"_

'I could probably do it in my sleep.'

Your eye starts itching again.

~~~OOO~~~ -Peridot-

You're sitting in the bathroom when you hear a knock on the door. Must be Steven. You open the door and are about to ask him why he still feels the need to knock, when you see that it, in fact, isn't Steven. It's the Big Clod. You remember that you had to talk to the new "Quartz" that is, apparently, living here now. She crosses her arms.

"Time to go."

"Go where?" You hadn't actually thought the Crystal Clods were seriously going to let you come with them.

"I said you could come listen. Don't make me regret that decision." She starts walking off.

"Hey, Garnet," You call out. "Why was he being so… nice to me? I thought he would shatter me when I saw the gem he possessed but… He seems almost as nice as Steven." She seems to pause for a moment at that, thinking it over. She turns back to you.

"I don't know. She is nothing like we remember her being. I'm not sure what happened but… she changed somehow. Be grateful you didn't meet her a few millennia ago." You nod at her statement. You truly are glad she wasn't as cruel as the history tomes portrayed her. "And stop referring to them as her. They're two different people." She turns and walks off towards the loft where the new guest was sleeping. Better get going too.

~~~OOO~~~ "White Quartz"

Heavy footsteps come up the stairs, followed by smaller, faster footsteps. Time to meet them I suppose. You take a moment to make sure he's dreaming, and another to see exactly what he's dreaming about. _He's on_ _the_ _cruise ship_ _again_ _._ You change the dream to something… safer. He's on the beach now. Much better. You turn your attention back to the outside world, and slowly take over his body.

You're face down on the floor. You place his hands on either side of his chest and push off of the floor. As you get up, you hear the one that was called garnet start talking. "You're supposed to be asleep." Your gem swivels in the boys socket to look at her. His other eye sits closed. She stiffens up at the sight. "So it's you then." She says. It wasn't a question. You smile slightly.

"Hello Garnet. Yes, it is me. I would've answered all your questions then, but I couldn't risk either of the boys hearing anything they shouldn't have. Is Steven here?" You ask, walking downstairs and sitting Daniel's body down on the couch.

"No, we decided that he should stay the night at Greg's place." She said with a smirk, as if expecting you to be upset at this development. You lace his hands behind his head.

"Good." The small smirk disappears and you can almost see her eyebrow rising behind her visor.

"Why are you pretending to be worried about Steven? If you think that you—" She starts, but you cut her off with a raise of his hand.

"I understand she isn't coming back, but I truly care about the boy. She was almost like a mother to me, even though she was my sister. I feel… a need to watch over Steven as she watched over me. There is no ruse. That part of the conversation stays between us three, but we should wait for the other gems before continuing."

Garnet looks like she wants you to continue, but agrees nonetheless. You look over at the small Peridot that you befriended earlier, and frown when she looks away, afraid again. You call her over.

"Peridot, please approach me." You look at the peridot for a reaction, and as expected, she kept her head down and stiffly walked towards you. "Look at me please." She looks up, and you lock eyes with her. "Are you still afraid of me?"

She slowly nods her head, and speaks. "Daniel told me that he wasn't going to hurt me, and I believe him, but… you're not Daniel, are you?"

"Indeed I'm not. I assume you know my name?"

She nods, "White Quartz."

You smirk at that. "My true name, if you please."

"White…" She starts, looking to Garnet for permission to continue, which Garnet provides through a nod of her head. "Your name is… White Diamond. Youngest sister of the Diamond Authority. Shattered in the great war over Earth." You nod at that. It was mostly true.

"Almost true, with a few exceptions. Last I remembered, It was called the Diamond Monarchy, and I didn't die in the war, although I came close. But still, close enough." Peridot nods at your words, absorbing this new information. "You remember how Daniel promised he wouldn't hurt you?" Another nod. "He was speaking for both of us at the time. His promise that no harm will come to you extends to me as well."

At this time the other gems arrived. Pearl and the quartz, Amethyst, arrived from their rooms and started walking towards the couch. Pearl spoke up.

"What's he doing still awake, we need to talk to her not h—"

"Hello Pearl. How have you been? It's been a while." You swivel your gem to look at her now.

"Oh."

"Hey girl what's up?" Amethyst hops over to the couch and sits down. "You're the gem chilling out inside Daniel's noggin, right?"

"...Yes. I am. You are Amethyst, correct?"

"Yep, That's me!"

"Okay… they told you who I am, right?" Her smile falters a bit, "Yeah, I thought so. So why are you being so nice to me then?"

"Look, The gems told me what happened with the war, and… I don't know, I guess I can't see you like that. You apparently saved the kid, even if it was to save yourself, and you haven't attacked us yet. Besides, the war happened before I popped out of the ground, so… Hey, no hard feelings."

"Thank you." You turn so that you're facing them all. "I imagine you're waiting for my story of how I wound up inside Daniel." They don't respond so you continue. "The story goes back all the way to the end of the war." You don't continue until you're sure that that information has sunk in.

"The war had just ended, with a resounding loss on our part. There were still some skirmishes taking place, mostly by some stubborn Jasper field commanders, but for the most part the treaty had been signed and we were abiding by it. We were to no longer come to earth, and in return, our sister had to stay here, on earth, in exile." Peridot raised her hand.

"Yes Peridot?" You looked at her.

"The history tomes didn't mention a sister. They only told us of Blue, White and Ye—" Her voice peters off as she notices the other gems staring at her. Garnet looks at you and says "She doesn't need to know."

This… was unexpected. They don't even want anybody to remember their leader's true name? No. You won't stand for this. She deserved better. "I'm telling her. Peridot, sit here please." You motion towards the couch cushion next to yours. Peridot walks up and sits on the couch next to you. "Peridot, do you know the name of the gem who used to lead the Crystal Gems?" Peridot nods.

"Her name was Rose Quartz, right?" You nod at her answer.

"Her name _was_ Rose Quartz, yes, but a long time ago she was known by a different na—"

"STOP!" You look at Pearl. She had tears in her eyes. "Stop, please. I can't hear you call her that. None of us can. It's not her real name to us. The gem you're talking about didn't exist." You freeze up and look around. Amethyst was looking away and you could barely see Garnet's hand shaking. You realized that they were all afraid. They were all afraid that you would say something that would shatter the memories they had of the only gem that ever loved and protected them. But you can't allow them to say your sister didn't exist. You need to fix this.

"Look, Crystal Gems… I'm sorry." They look at you. "I know you know her as Rose Quartz, but you have to remember that even though she was your leader, she was _my_ sister. She was the kindest sister out of all of us. She loved me unconditionally and I—I never told her how much she meant to me." You feel something hitting his laps. You look down and realize that tears were hitting his legs. "On the day you lost your leader, I lost my sister." You look up, and the gems are all looking at you. Your eyes lock onto Pearl.

"And I knew my sister as Pink Diamond, so don't you DARE that say my sister never existed."

~~~OOO~~~ -Pearl-

It hurts, having your own feelings used against you. Especially when you know that the person doing it is in the right. Rose was your leader. Rose was the only gem who you ever loved. Rose was the most perfect person in the universe… Rose was White Diamond's sister… White Diamond Loved Pink Diamond even more than you loved Rose…

And you just told White Diamond that Pink Diamond Never even existed in the first place.

"I'm… Sorry. I never knew how much Ro—Pink Diamond meant to you. I guess— I guess I really am a defective pearl. After all, would a normal pearl tell someone that her master never existed?" You pause for a moment. "But… she never really _was_ my master, or at least she didn't consider herself my master. She told me so herself. She— Rose told me she considered me a companion, and that I was my own free gem. I miss her so much, and I don't want to lose her memories. I loved her so much."

You're shaking at what you just said. You just called her Pink Diamond for the first time in millennia.

~~~OOO~~~ -White Quartz-

"You don't have to lose her memories. She loved you as Rose Quartz, and she loved you as Pink Diamond. You need to come to terms with the fact that they were one and the same." The words are out of your mouth before you even realize what you were saying. You're starting to realize that these gems weren't simply the remains of your sister's army. These gems were your sister's closest friends.

"Look, I'm going to continue with the story, but not until you're ready to listen to more. I'm tired, and I cant keep up controlling his body. He will regain control soon, and I want him in bed when he does, okay?" The Gems start nodding, too drained to argue with you. You turn to Peridot. "Before I leave, I need your help with something. You are an engineering gem, from what it seems, correct?"

"Yes Ma'am, I am an Olivine family technician gem. Peridot class. Best in my field." Peridot seemed… enthused to say the least, to tell you about her job. Ah well. She's probably just happy someone's taken an interest in her life.

"Do you know anything about robotics?" Peridot goes silent. She starts shaking again. You're about to reach out and grab her shoulder when you see the stupidly huge, half drunken smile on her face. Oh no… you broke her. Again.

Peridot jumps off the couch and runs out of the room. You hear a loud noise coming from the restroom. She walks out a few seconds later with a few round robots following her. "Robotics is my specialty!"

"...Didn't we confiscate all your flask robonoids?" Peridot blanches at the sound of Garnet's voice.

"Steven… may… have told me where you had them..." This was getting out of hand.

"Look" You say, getting everyone focused back on you "I can't stay in control much longer here, so I'll keep it short. I need you to make me a prosthetic limb."

Your gaze is met by 4 simultaneous confused looks and one simultaneous bout of "What?"

"When the boy and I met, he was missing a few… pieces. Two to be exact. Some small organ on the inside of his body, and his… arm." You let the constructed arm vanish, revealing that his arm was non existant. His torso simply… ended at the shoulder. "I've been keeping an arm materialized for him at all times. But it's getting taxing on my strength. He needs a new limb, and soon. I'm asking _you_ to make me one _,"_ You point to Peridot. _"_ because I would rather him have a homeworld quality prosthetic than a human quality hook. Can you do this for me?" Peridot nods, then thinks about it for a minute.

"I'll need my limb enhancers, but I can do it."

Limb enhancers? "What are limb enhancers?"

"You need to go to bed." I wave Garnet's advice off.

"I'll be fine. Releasing the construct freed up some energy. I have a few more minutes to spare." I turn back to Peridot. "What do your limb enhancers look like?"

Peridot quickly describes what they look like, and you find that your task of retrieving them has become a lot easier. "I've seen those things before. We'll go tomorrow night to retrieve them, okay?"

"Uh, you've seen them before? Where?" She asks. You look over your shoulder at her as you're walking up the stairs with a smile.

"The underwater fusion who helped Daniel and I has them."

You turn back to the stairs, ignoring all the shocked stares you knew were being directed at the back of your head. Ideas were being formed in the back of your head, and glimpses of outcomes passed your vision in a blur. Even as you laid back and closed your eyes, you still couldn't stop smiling. After all you had a plan.

And, as you know, things always go according to plan.

~~~OOO~~~ -Daniel-

You wake up with your arm missing.

Great.

You almost panic, but manage to hold it down, remembering back to the hospital incident. You didn't want a repeat of that. You look around, but you don't see any blood. You do however smell something tasty coming from downstairs.

...Screw it, You'll have a breakdown later, Right now you need to eat.

You go downstairs. It appears that Steven still isn't back yet. You can see Garnet on the couch, Amethyst sitting on the counter, and Pearl cooking something on the stove. You clear your throat. Garnet looks up.

"Um, Morning." You walk over to Garnet. "Can you help me out real quick? I seem to have a problem with my arm, and I'm kinda stumped on what to do here." You hear Amethyst's laughter coming from behind you. "So yeah, bad puns aside, where'd my arm go?" Garnet looks at you for a second before replying.

"You're taking this awfully well."

"Trust me, I'm freaking out pretty bad here. I'm just keeping it inside in case Steven decides to come home anytime soon."

"He's not."

"Thanks." Garnet stands up and grabs your shoulder. "What are yo—"

…

Yep. Unconscious again. You wake up on the couch next to Garnet. Pearl is cooking again and Amethyst is waving _something_ in front of your face. You gag just a little at the smell. Amethyst hides whatever she woke you up with and looks at you. You give her a weak thumbs up and she rolls her eyes and goes back to the counter. You look at Garnet.

"Less than a minute."

…

"Thanks."

"If you're feeling up to it there's some food over here." Pearl calls from the kitchen. "It's still warm."

You get up off the couch and walk over to the counter. You are trying to figure out how to get on the tall stool, when you feel hot breath on the back of your neck and suddenly get lifted onto the seat. You turn around and see the lion sitting on his haunches behind you. You reach over and rub the big cat between his ears, and he responds by rubbing his head back into your palm. You look over at Pearl.

"Thanks for the food. Uh, did you learn anything interesting about me last night?" You asked. Pearl gave a small shrug. Uh oh. The "Something bad happened" alarm is going off. "She didn't say anything bad to you guys, did she?" Pearl turns around with a(n obviously forced) smile.

"Oh no, no. She didn't say anything much. She's almost as much in the dark about all this as you are. It's fine! She certainly didn't say anything bad about us."

You find yourself having a hard time believing that. "Well… I'm not accusing you of lying, but on the off chance that she did say anything hurtful and you just can't remember right now, I really am sorry." You hop off the stool and go to sit back down on the couch, leaving pearl smiling softly behind your back.

You feel a small pressure inside your head, and suddenly White Quartz is back.

" _Oh, you woke up before me."_

'Care to explain why my arm's missing?'

" _I got tired of keeping it formed. It was using up too much energy. It's only for a few days, until Peridot builds you your new arm."_

'Peridot's building me a new arm? How long should it take?'

" _I have no clue."_

Great. You might as well get up now. You turn to Garnet. "Where's Peridot? White Quartz told me she was going to build me a new arm."

Garnet points towards the bathroom then reaches under the couch and pulls out a football helmet. "You're gonna need this." She tosses it to you.

You put on the helmet and open the bathroom door. A piece of crystal flies at your head and cracks the helmet. Garnet gives you a thumbs up. "You can take it off now." You give her a thumbs up and walk inside. Peridot is working on something on the floor. It looks like she's fixing a robot. Cool. You sit down next to her and ask her if she needs help.

"No, It's okay Daniel, I am merely trying to fix enough robonoids to help us retrieve my limb enhancers." Okay then. You see her start stuffing some strange compound inside one of the robonoids. (is that c4?!) You excuse yourself from the room, but right before you leave Peridot calls you back.

"So, I met the gem that's inside your eye. She seems… nice." She pulls out a tub of (thankfully) a different putty from a hamper. "Take off your shirt please? I need to take measurements for the prosthetic." She smears the putty over your chest where the arm should have connected to the shoulder. You can feel the putty hardening before she grabs it and pops it off the side of your chest. "Thanks for holding still."

You look at her again. "You know, you look a lot different from yesterday, you know." She turns to face you.

"How so?" You shrug your shoulders at that.

"You seem more confident. You look a lot nicer when you're not crying on the floor. I'm sorry if I scared you last night Peridot." She shrugs.

"It's my fault. I overreacted. That's all."

You look at her. "Peridot, I don't like it." She starts looking confused.

"Don't like what Daniel?"

"I don't _want_ people to fear me." You say. "I mean sure, I can sometimes be a bit of an ass, but I would much rather be friends."

Peridot walks up to you and ruffles your hair, which is a strange sight to see considering she's shorter than you. "Enough with the sucrose human, seriously. Between you and Steven, I'll be a puddle of mush before the month's up. Go play with the fusion or something. I gotta draw up plans for your new arm." You turn, and as you're walking out of the room, you hear her laughing. Guess you made a good second impression.

" _You could always go take her advice you know. Go play with the fusion."_

You shake your head. Garnet doesn't seem much for playing.

" _You just haven't given her the chance. Besides, I'm not talking about her. We DO know another fusion. I was talking to the underwater fusion this morning, while I was unresponsive. I asked her to come over and play nice so we could retrieve the limb enhancers. She's sleeping under the pier right now. I have a plan thal will make EVERYBODY happy. I already got the fusion to agree to play nice with the Crystal Gems, now we're gonna get the gems to play nice with the fusion… and I know just how to do it."_

~~~OOO~~~ -Steven-

You're sitting in the "It's a wash!" operator's booth, bored out of your mind. You're helping out at the carwash to pass the time until you can go home. You're spinning around in the spinny-seat when you see Daniel walking towards the pier through the window. His shirt was pinned up on the lefthand side. You turn to dad. He saw it too.

"Go check up on your br—buddy. I can handle the wash on my own for the rest of the day. Here." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crumpled up handful of bills. "Take this for uh, services rendered." You look at the money. It's two tens and… A ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL?

You push the money back into his hand. Curse your good nature.

"Dad, I think you overpaid me. By a lot." Greg pulls the money out of your hands and counts again. He hands the cash back.

"Nope, I'm pretty sure that's what I meant to give you, kiddo. Go have fun, and remember, I love you so mu—Gllkk" He can't say anything else with how tight you're squeezing him. You pull out of the hug.

"I love you too dad, maybe I'll get something nice for Daniel. Bye!" You're out the door and running after Daniel before he can say anything else.

"Hey Daniel! Wait up!" You shout. He turns around. "Where're you going off to? I saw you walk by the ca—." You gasp. His arm was missing. He looks surprised to see you, then smiles.

"Don't worry about it. I was..." He paused for a moment "shapeshifting and my arm disappeared. It'll be back soon." You nod understandingly. Shapeshifting sucks.

"So, where are you heading? Dad let me get off work to hang out with you."

"I was heading off to the pier, I was gonna meet an old friend of White Quartz's there." Steven gasps.

"A new friend?! Can I come with you guys too?! I wanna meet your new friend too!" He pauses for a moment, then responds.

"She says it might be dangerous, and that we thought we'd be going alone. She wants to know if you're sure you want to come."

"I love meeting new people! Of course I wanna come!" He starts chuckling.

"Okay, okay, just stay behind me when we get there." Yes! One more cart to add to the Steven Universe Friendship Train!

"So where do we meet this new friend of ours?"

"She says that she's resting under the pier. Let's go."

Awesome! You get to hang out with your best bro, AND make a new friend? There's no way this day could turn sour!

~~~OOO~~~

 **Daniel, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! (and props to you for only fainting for a few seconds when you realized you had lost your arm.)**

 **Long chapters are fun to write, but they feel so strange to write at the same time. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Under the Pier

**DISCLAIMER: I MAY own Steven Universe in an alternate dimension, but not in this one. (I don't own Steven Universe. Lawyers plz don't sue.)**

~~~OOO~~~ -Daniel-

'So how do we know she won't just eat him he moment we wake her up?' You've been arguing with the voice almost the entire trip over to the pier over whether or not it was safe for Steven to visit the fusion.

" _I already explained to you, I can see the future. There's a 12.7% chance at worst that she'll attempt to ingest Steven."_

'Very funny'

" _Noted. Don't worry. She won't harm him at all. She absolutely ADORES Steven. Well… Half of her at least."_

'And the other half?'

" _She's indifferent. Mostly. Apparently she had no idea that Steven was even a human. She thought that he was Rose Quartz disguising herself as a human. I promise she won't harm him."_

Fine. You guess you'll trust White Quartz on this.

" _Thank you for trusting me. Just remember, I would NEVER do anything to hurt you or Steven."_

'Yeah, I do hope you have a plan if things go south though. I'm not really fit to be fighting right now. I'm missing an arm, remember?'

You arrive at the pier and turn to Steven. "Hey Steven, you know I'd never do anything to hurt you, right?"

"Of course. We're best buddies after all!" He looks around. "So where's your friend?"

"Okay Steven, I need you trust me, whatever happens next." You steel yourself, then you both walk under the pier.

You're greeted by a strange sight. A two-story woman green and blue woman was sleeping halfway out of the water. Was this the fusion? You don't remember them being that big, though your only point of reference was Garnet.

" _Yes. Be polite. Her name is Malachite."_ Steven grabs your sleeve. He pulls you back towards him and whispers in your ear.

"Your friend is Malachite?!" You nod. "Why didn't you tell me?! This is bad! Malachite hates my guts!" You turn and whisper back at him.

"She won't hurt you, I promise. I'll keep you safe if anythin—" You're interrupted by a deep yawn. You turn and see Malachite coming out of he water and stretching. (Not what you were expecting her lower body to look like AT ALL) She hasn't seen you yet. Steven pulls you back towards him.

"I—If you're sure she won't hurt me, then I'll— I'll trust you." You ruffle his hair and smile at him.

"I'll keep you safe little bro." You turn to Malachite. "Uh… Excuse me! You're Malachite, right?"

~~~OOO~~~ -Malachite-

 **'You know they're there, so why don't we turn around?'** _'I don't want to scare Steven by jumping at him.'_ **'The little runt could use some fear. It builds character.'** _'You know you don't mean that.'_ **'...Whatever.'**

Dear god they won't stop arguing. You almost want to force yourself to unfuse just so you don't have to listen to this anymore, but you couldn't do that to them. You've only became self aware just recently, and it's already felt like an eternity with these clowns. You're tired of waiting for them to decide on a course of action, so when you hear Daniel call your name, you take matters into your own hands. You slowly turn around, completely ignoring Daniel, (as well as Lapis and Jasper) and crawl up to Steven with a malicious look on your face.

"Hello, Runt… remember me?" You almost crack a smile at the way his face pales. "What, not gonna run?" He shakes his head.

"Daniel told me not to be afraid and to trust him, and I'm gonna trust him." You lean in closer to Steven.

"Now why would you take that advice? You're so small I could eat you without a second thought." You touch your forehead to his. "After all… You're nothing to Jasper." He looks like he wants to cry, but then he looks towards Daniel and his face hardens.

"A— and what am I t— to you?" He asks, looking you straight in the eye. Just the question you were waiting for.

"Well, considering that your friend Lapis Lazuli is inside me…" You can't hold it in anymore, and a huge smile splits your face. "Would you be willing to call me your beach summer fun buddy too?" You take your head off of his head and wait for his answer. You don't have to wait long.

"So… Lapis is in control right now, not Jasper?" Your smile slightly fades at that question.

"Nope. It's all Malachite, runt. Lapis and Jasper are now..." Oh geez, how do you say this to a kid… "much better friends than they were when they first fused. Since they're so chummy now, I popped into existence."

 **'Oh yeah, were MUCH better friends now, aren't we baby?'**

 _'…'_

 **'…What?'**

 _'You… are SO lucky Steven couldn't hear you say that.'_

You smile slightly at the conversation going on inside your head. You turn back to Steven. "So whaddya say, runt? Beach summer fun buddies?" Steven looks at you with a serious face.

This can't be good.

"Are you KIDDING me?! You think that _just because_ Lapis is inside you that I'm gonna forgive what Jasper did to me and my family?! What she did to beach city?! That's NOT the way it works! I wont forgive Jasper just because Lapis asks me to!" Oh damn. You can feel all three of your hearts breaking at that. He walks up to you with a look of pure fire in his eyes, but as he gets within arms length he says something unexpected. "I'd forgive Jasper either way." He wraps his arms as much as he can around your lower chest.

"Of course we're beach summer fun buddies." You can feel so much joy coming from Lapis that your vision goes fuzzy, and… something coming from Jasper. "That was just payback for scaring me earlier."

 **'Hey, can I take over and ask a question real quick?'** _'Sure, If Malachite's okay with it.'_ You step back and let Jasper take the reins for a second.

" **Hey runt, it's me, Jasper."** Steven pulls away from the hug and backs up.

"Jasper? What's wrong? You're not mad I hugged you, are you?"

" **No,** **no, It's fine** **. I have… a question I need you to answer. It's an important one, so I need an honest answer, okay?"** Steven nods. **"Why… are you so nice to me? After everything I've done to you… To your friends, your family… How do you not see me as a monster?** **How could you just forgive me?** **"** If you still had control of your eyebrows, you would have raised them. Where was all this coming from?

"Jasper, I forgave you a long time ago. I forgave you because I thought, one day, you'd want to be friends. I thought that there was more to you than what you showed us back on the ship. I _knew_ that there was good in you."

" **Wow run— kid. I never knew you thought of me that way.** **I guess I'm not used to people thinking of me in such a positive way...** **Look kid, for what it's worth,** **I'm… sorry. For everything. I need to go...** **clear my head** **now.** **Do me a favor and t** **ell the fusion that if I ever see her again, on better terms, there's some stuff I need to talk to her about."** After asking Lapis if she had anything to say to Steven, and getting no response, You take control again, and direct your attention back to Steven.

"I can't really leave the pier without drawing unwanted attention, so would you two like to just… relax down here with me?"

~~~OOO~~~ -Steven-

It's times like this when you're amazed at your own life. You're laying down on the sand next to your brot— next to Daniel, with Malachite curled around both of you like a cat. She had just finished telling you some stories of her experiences under the sea, and now you were all dozing off watching the waves. You're about to fall asleep when Daniel taps on your shoulder.

"Hey Steven, are you angry at me for tricking you into meeting Malachite? If you are, I'm sorry bro. White Quartz told me it was a good plan, and I just wanted you guys to meet up so she wouldn't have to stay under the sea." You have to think about this for a moment.

"Nah, It's fine. If you had told me it was Malachite in the first place, I probably would have ran and gotten the gems." Malachite shifts so that her head is facing you.

"And what a shame that would have been. I rather enjoy relaxing with you." You laugh at that, then turn to malachite.

"So, why are you so laid back? Aren't fusions supposed to be the combinations of their gems' personalities?"

"Uhh… I don't really know. I just love laying around and watching the sun go by. My best guess is that Jasper and Lapis' personalities were so different at the beginning, that my personality just formed on it's own. Not that I'm complaining or anything. Being lazy is a blast!" Malachite stretches her arms above her head and pops her upper back, then goes back to resting around you. "So… think the Crystal Gems would be okay with me living on the beach? I'm kinda tired of sleeping in a cave in a trench." Now there's a thought.

"I don't think they'd mind, if you made up with them, But if you wanted you could probably live in the temple instead. You'd just have to unfuse first." Malachite scrunched up her face at that. Apparently not.

"Yeah, the thing is buddy, None of us actually _want_ to unfuse. We're happy as is."

"Well, If you change your shape you can probably fit in the temple as is… I think." Truthfully, you weren't too sure that they'd fit either way. "I mean, if it's not too much trouble to change how you look."

"No dice runt, they'd need to unfuse to change how I look and, like I said, we're all happy with our current situation. Even Jasper is way happier this way than she's ever been before." Malachite leans in close. "Turns out… she WAS just mad because she was single. We're fine." Malachite turns and looks towards the sun. She starts frowning.

"Well, I think my time here's up." I need to head back to the trench to get my charge's limb enhancers ready before you guys come knocking later tonight."

"Your charge? Are you talking about Peridot?"

"Yep. You remember how I inherited Lapis' status as your beach summer fun buddy? I also inherited some of Jasper's titles. Escort was one of those titles. Peridot is still my responsibility to protect." She gets up and you actually feel sad when her warmth behind you is gone.

She crawls into the water and turns her head around. "See you around… runt." And with that, she dives under the water and is gone. You turn to Daniel.

"Huh, she was nice. I'm glad you and me visited her." You were about to say more, but just beyond Daniel's head you could see a _very_ familiar purple shape walking towards you...

And it did NOT look happy.

~~~OOO~~~ -Daniel-

"Hey Stee-man! Didn't think I'd see you here!" You turn around. Great.

'Are we boned?'

" _No."_ Suddenly you feel yourself being lifted by the back of your collar. _"You're boned."_

You're turned around and met with a very irritated looking Garnet. "Look, I know this looks bad, but I can expl—" Garnet releases you and you fall on your ass. She squats down in front of you so that you're both at eye level.

"If you EVER do something as reckless as that again with Steven," She pulls off her glasses. "I will rip you out of his eye socket and shatter you myself." Oh, she was talking to White Quartz. "And if YOU ever listen to one of her plans again, I'll throw you out of the warp stream. Understood?" That one was definitely addressed to you. You nod, and are about to open your mouth to respond, when your mouth starts talking without you. In a voice that's not yours.

" _First off, Do NOT call me reckless. You know just as well as I do that my 'future vision' as you like to call it, is magnitudes more precise than yours._ _Besides,_ _I would RATHER be shattered than put these boys in danger, and you know that. I can also protect them_ _BETTER than_ _you can, and that's something considering I'm STUCK IN MY GEM!"_

You can feel your eye heating up, and you start to get worried, but White Quartz must really be mad now because the heat's not letting up. _"Second. If you EVER threaten my child again, I will defuse you. Permanently."_

" _Third, And both of you gems need to SHUT THE HELL UP and listen when I say this! We severely need more allies on our side, or at the very least less enemies. I talked to this ocean fusion. She's willing to put aside her differences with you for Steven's sake."_ Your voice cracks, and you can feel the heat in your eye ebbing away. _"I'm just... trying to prepare us. I can see something happening soon. More gems are coming to earth but… I can't see how many. Something's affecting my sight and I'm scared. I'm scared that we could be looking at another war, and I don't want to see everything my sister worked so hard for, especially Steven, get destroyed. I'm trying my hardest to keep Steven safe, and... I'm so sorry I didn't tell you any of this before."_

You turn to Steven. White Quartz starts speaking through you again. _"Soon both you and Daniel will be confronted with our pasts._ _I've seen it. It's inevitable._ _You will both learn who you truly are, and who we truly were. I only hope you can forgive us for what we did."_ White Quartz releases your voice. Your vision goes dark, and you're left alone with her inside your head.

" _I'm so sorry for doing that. I promise I'll never use you like that again."_

'It's fine. I'm more worried about you. Are you okay? Why did you snap at them?'

 _"I've been getting... glimpses of the future, and I can see that more gems are coming to earth. I've been trying to prepare us for war, if it happens, but these gems insist on holding ridiculous grudges. I've also been trying to keep myself calm around you, and the stress of everything finally caught up with me."_

'You don't have to keep things from me. I understand that you were worried, but you can't hurt yourself just because you think it'll keep me happy. We're two people living in one body, and I care about my roommate.'

 _"I care too. I was under a lot of stress, but I was just as angry at them for threatening you. It's pretty amazing actually. I've been alive for millennia, Daniel, and somehow, in just a few days of knowing you, you've wormed yourself into my gem. In just a few days, I've begun to think of you as my child. You are just as important to me as Steven is." She pauses for a second. "Controlling you against your will was really taxing on my energy. I need to go rest now if I want to be fit for tonight."_

'Hey, This is your body too. If you ever feel the need to speak up, about anything, just let me know. I don't mind. Rest up. I'll see you soon.'

 _"Goodnight, my child."_

You feel the familiar presence in your head fade away, until you're sure that you're alone in your head. Your vision returns, and you find that you're being helped up off the sand by Steven and Garnet. Great. You passed out again. You look at Garnet.

"So are we still up for meeting Malachite tonight? I think Steven wants to come with."

~~~OOO~~~

 **Here's some crap I had planned out for the chapter, before I changed it all up. I was going to have Lapis and Jasper still hating each other, and Malachite was going to ask for help because they couldn't unfuse or something. I decided to just fill the chapter with more feelings and yelling instead. Enjoy. (Lazy Malachite is best Malachite.)**

" _You have to think of it this way, she is a jasper. They are naturally resilient to all forms of damage, and their forms are twice as big as any other gem, with the exception of maybe 7 other gem types. What would you use a gem with those qualities for?"_

You can see where she's trying to go with this. 'You'd use them for war.'

" _And if they think they aren't suited for war? If they don't like harming others?"_

'Then they don't fight. They find another job.'

" _Our culture is different from humanity in that we can't choose to be anything we're not. If you are created a jasper, you can't simply become a medic. You will be expected to charge into the front lines without a second thought. Any gem who refuses to do what is expected from them is deemed 'defective' and either reprogrammed into what is expected of them, or shattered on the spot."_

'So you're saying…'

" _I've seen the inside of her mind. She's been reprogrammed so much, It's amazing she has any emotion left at all besides hatred… but she does. She's too far gone to fully revert back to her old identity, but with some effort, she can shape her new identity into something she can actually be proud of."_

'You seem… invested in this gem.'

"I can't afford not to be. She's a direct product from two of the technologies I developed for homeworld."

'You developed the way to reprogram gems?'

"Yes."

'What other technology is she a direct product of?'

 **And cut. That's all I can show because I might use some stuff from here in the future. Toodles.**


	5. Trust Exercises

**DISCLAIMER: I LIKE CHEERIOS. I also do not own Steven Universe…**

~~~OOO~~~ -Daniel-

"For the last time, no, Steven will NOT accompany us to Malachite's den. For all we know, this could be a trap."

God, why are they so stubborn? You've been arguing with Garnet for the past 20 minutes into letting Steven come with you to meet Malachite. So far the only answer you've received is a resounding NO. Time to try a different approach.

"If Malachite wanted to trap us, she wouldn't have let us leave that pier alive. She would have killed us then and there if she wanted us dead!" You can see Steven getting yelled at by pearl further down the beach. Garnet uncrosses her arms.

"Daniel, please. Try to see things from our point of view. Malachite may be willing to hold peace with us for now, but she is an unstable fusion made up of two VERY unstable gems. We are only trying to ensure that Steven won't get hurt while we're down there." You sigh and turn away. She was right. There was no way to know for sure whether or not the meeting would go peacefully.

"look, Garnet. I understand that there's no way to ensure that the meeting will go smoothly, and I have no right to ask you this considering you caught us basically napping with the enemy an hour ago… but please, place some trust in me and White. Ask Steven whether he wants to go or not, and tell him your argument against it. If he still wants to come after you've told him of the danger, then please, just let him come with us. He's the only one Malachite trusts besides White Quartz." Garnet turns and looks at Steven a moment, before looking back at you. "I really am sorry for going behind your backs with Malachite, I never meant to put Steven in danger." Garnet sighs and rubs the back of her neck.

"Daniel I… I think I should be the one apologizing… for overreacting earlier. I—we saw you talking with Malachite and even without future vision we could have told you she wasn't going to act aggressive. Granted, you ARE still in trouble for going behind our backs like this, but… your heart was in the right place. I'll… ask Steven if he wishes to accompany us to the meeting." Garnet places her hand on your shoulder. You suddenly remember who else needed to come with you.

"Um, can Peridot come too? Malachite said she wanted to make sure she was safe." Garnet smirked at that.

"They're her limb enhancers, she's coming with us whether she likes it or not." Garnet turns and starts walking away.

"Hey Garnet, I needed to tell you, I'm sorry for her threatening you… she was kind of burnt out. I'll ask her to apologize when she wakes up." Garnet stops and looks down at her hands. "I don't know if she can force you apart permanently, but as long as I'm here, I'll never even let her try. She didn't mean it though. She was just angry… and scared." Garnet turns back to you and crosses her arms. She looks like she's deep in thought.

"Daniel, I don't know how much she's told you about herself, but trust me when I say that White Quartz has more than enough power to follow through with her threats if she so chooses, even in her current state. When she still had her physical form, she was quite possibly the most powerful gem on earth besides Rose Quartz. It's hard, trusting her, for that reason… But I'm willing to try. I knew of her before the war, and she's changed quite a bit since then, apparently. She saved you, a human boy, and she bonded with you. That itself, from someone with her history, deserves a second chance." Garnet pauses for a few seconds. "As for getting her to apologize, I wouldn't count on it. Gems like her, it's almost impossible to get them to do something they don't want to do." Garnet turns away, and the conversation is over.

Well that went well. Time to go get some rest before Midnight. You start walking back to the house, and wouldn't you know it, someone stops you. "Hey kiddo, wait up!" You turn around and see Greg jogging towards you. He looks worried, so you stop and wait for him to catch up.

"Me and Steven saw you walking past the wash earlier, I almost had a heart attack when I saw your shirt pinned up. What happened?" He looks at you for a moment, then scratches his head. "You don't look like you're hurt, were you trying to change your arm? Steven had the same problem a few months back, we can just put you in the wash and—" You shake your head.

"No, it's fine. Turns out my arm was fake the entire time. White Quartz just got tired of keeping the fake arm materialized, so I'm gonna be one limb down until Peridot makes me a new arm." Greg's looking at you funny again.

"Wait, you're having _Peridot_ make you an arm?! Kid, you might want to reconsider that. Peridot likes to go… beyond what you ask her to do. She 'fixed' my toaster the other day and it talks now. I can't even use it anymore because it keeps moaning any time I try to put toast in." Greg shudders for a second "But enough about that… unpleasant story, where's Steven? He said he was going to hang out with you today." Yes… this won't end badly.

"Steven's talking with the Gems. We kinda… got in trouble earlier at the pier. It's okay though, no one got hurt or anything. We just got in trouble because Steven could've been injured." That… probably wasn't the best thing to say. Greg looks at you a bit.

"The Gems said some unpleasant stuff to you, I'm guessing." You nod your head.

"They said if White Quartz and I ever did something as reckless as that again they'd shatter her and throw me out of a warp stream. White Quartz kinda broke down, took control of my body, and threatened them back. I apologized though, and Garnet apologized for overreacting, but I think she's angry with White Quartz now." Greg looks at you funny again.

"Geez kid, you got the Gems mad enough for them to threaten you? What the heck did you even do that was so dangerous anyways? Steven didn't accidentally collapse the boardwalk again, did he?" You really wish White Quartz was here to help you explain this.

"I was going alone to meet the underwater fusion who saved me, to thank her and talk a little before the Gems and I had to go meet her tonight, but Steven came and tagged along with me. We hung out and talked and they were just so happy together. I felt like I was doing the right thing, and then when Garnet yelled at me… White Quartz took control of my body and threatened to hurt them if they ever threatened me again. Things went south from there, there was more yelling, and I passed out again."

"White Quartz took over your body? And you're okay with that?"

"Honestly? Yeah. It's her body as well as mine now, and I'm okay with that. I'm actually kind of happy that she did that, I was close to staining my pants in front of the Gems before she took over. She overexerted herself taking control, so she's resting right now. I hope she didn't hurt herself." Greg pats your head.

"I wouldn't doubt that she's fine. gems are tough." Greg looks around, as if suddenly remembering where you and him were. "How's about me and you get out of the street? We're still soft, unlike gems."

"Yeah, let's get somewhere cooler." You and Greg start walking to the wash. Guess you're not getting any rest tonight. "It's… strange. It feels so empty inside my head without her. I guess I got used to having someone to talk to at all times."

"I know what you mean bud, there are still times when I turn around expecting Rose to still be there. You never like leaving a loved one behind, even if it's only for a while." Greg opens the door to his office and lets you in, following and closing the door behind you. "So, you want a water? They're nice and ice cold."

"Sure, thanks. I need to get going soon though. We're going to meet the fusion tonight at midnight and hopefully… work things out between them. I want to get a few hours of sleep beforehand."

"Uh… Daniel, you know it's 9 o'clock, right?" You look at the wall clock, it WAS 9 o'clock. How long were you talking for? It seems like the sun was barely setting when you walked in.

"Shit. Looks like I'm not getting any rest tonight before we go. I need to get back to the temple before midnight. Thanks for having me here, even though I have no idea how the time slipped by that fast."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, not so fast. Before you go, two things. First off, I may be Mr. Cool Dad, but try to keep that language to a minimum around Steven."

"Oh, sorry, it slipped out. I'm usually better at keeping the fun words away from Steven. My bad."

"No problem, Just… be mindful. Second thing is..." Greg goes back to the mini-fridge he got the water from. "If you're needed for a gem mission tonight, you probably want to be at your peak. Catch." Greg throws you a small plastic bottle. "That should keep you going for the better part of… the week. Don't tell the Gems I gave you that." You look at the label on the bottle, reading it's name.

"25 hour energy?" You start reading the back. "Is this stuff even safe?" You open up the top and smell it. Strawberries? Whatever, down the hatch. You drink the whole thing at once.

"Of course it's safe. For gems. The company recalled them about a year ago, but the Gems seem to like it. At least, I haven't had any complaints from them. I have crates and crates of that stuff in the back from when I used to sell snacks at the wash. But seriously, DON'T tell the Gems I gave you that. The last time I gave Steven one of those he was up for 3 days. Probably didn't help that he was 7 though. You'll be fine."

"Well, thanks anyways for stopping me, and for the water and the energy drink. I need to get h—" You're interrupted by a flash of light coming from your gem and the most welcome presence ever popping back inside your head.

" _HOLYSPACEJESUSWHATDIDYOUDOIFEELGREATWHAT'SHAPPENING?!"_

You're so surprised you flip backwards in your folding chair and land on the floor. Greg rushes towards you and helps you up. "Are you okay?" He's checking you over for any signs of injury.

"It's fine. White Quartz is back. I think that energy drink broke something though, she won't stop yelling." It was actually getting pretty painful listening to her.

"Oh she's fine. The Gems had that same problem back when they first tried it. The were needed some time to get used to the energy rush. She'll be fine in a few seconds. Or… she should be fine in a few seconds. Gem stuff is tricky." Well, at least you weren't stuck with the equivalent of an infant on a sugar high in you head forever.

'Are you okay now?'

" _..."_

'White?'

" _You will never speak of this to ANYONE."_

~~~OOO~~~ -Steven-

"Steven, be reasonable. Wouldn't you rather play with Connie? I can call her parents and arrange a slumber party between you two at her house."

"Pearl, it's 9:15 at night on a Tuesday. Connie is asleep and her parents won't like you waking them up at this hour. If Steven decides not to come with us he'll have to stay here or with Greg." Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst have been arguing about whether or not to take you with them to meet up with Malachite.

"Guys, guys. It's okay. Really! I don't think anything bad will happen. I already met Malachite, and she was really nice to me! She was lazy, like a big wet cat! I promise it'll be safe, and that I won't get hurt. Besides, if things go really bad I can bubble myself and you can send me to the temple. We can go there, meet her, and things will be cool between everyone!" Pearl starts looking around nervously.

"Well… I suppose if you're certain you want to go, we can take you with us. With Garnet and Amethyst's approval as well."

"I see nothing wrong with it, as long as he stays near us and Daniel."

"WOO, Let's do this! I'll turn into a shark and race you to the bottom!"

Pearl nods slowly, then looks back at you. "I guess it's settled then. You can come with us. Just, please, be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Don't worry pearl." You lean in and hug her legs. "I'll be safe. I have the best people ever watching over me. Besides, she's more scared of you than you are of her. She just wants to live peacefully without worrying about you attacking her or having to hide in the Marinara trench."

"Marianas, Steven," Pearl says. "And if you trust Malachite enough to go down to her den, We'll see if we can come to a suitable… living arrangement between all of us." She laughs for a second. "You know, between Malachite, Peridot and Daniel coming around, we're gonna run out of temple space soon. We might need to reopen some of the unused rooms in the temple if they're gonna stay here."

"Whaaaat?! You guys never told me there were more rooms besides yours in the temple! How many are there?"

"Well, they're not rooms in the strictest sense. They're pocket dimensions sealed off from our reality and the temple doors simply manifest entrances on both sides. Depending on how powerful the gem who makes the room is, or more specifically, how much of their power they wish to devote to resizing the room, the rooms can become unimaginably large." Just then you hear the front door opening.

"Uh, hi guys. Am I interrupting something?" Daniel walks through the door, looking a bit frazzled.

"Hey, Daniel's back!" You run over and give Daniel a hug. "Hey! We were just talking about how you could live in the temple. You can have your own room and everything!"

"Oh cool, but… White says we already have our own living quarters. She wouldn't mind linking it to the temple though. Is that fine?" You look from Daniel to Garnet.

"It's fine. I assume she has a synchronization stone?"

"Yeah, she says she'll hand it over later." Daniel looks to you. "So, are you ready to go?"

"Heck yeah! Let's go meet Malachite again! I wanna see where she lives! Are we ready to go?" You look around waiting for everyone to respond. Finally Garnet shrugs.

"Let me go get Peridot." You watch as Garnet walks into the bathroom. The door closes behind her. There's an explosion, a muffled scream, and Garnet walks out holding Peridot by the waist.

"She bit me." Peridot had a scowl and tears running down her face. "I bit her back. Peridot, we're going to meet Malachite."

"So what? I know my job. Watch Steven, watch the house if he goes with you."

"WE'RE going to meet Malachite. You're coming with us." Peridot's eyes went wide.

"WHAT?! Why do I have to go with you? I wanna watch the house!"

"One, They're your limb enhancers, two, all you do is watch TV when we tell you to watch the house, and three, Malachite asked for you to come specifically. So you're coming with us."

"Fine. But don't expect me to fight. I'm an engineer, not a warrior."

"Alright Peridot! Let's go!" You're about to run outside when you're stopped by Daniel's hand on your shoulder.

"There's only one problem with that, Steven. White says the bridge to her den won't be up for another half hour. Let's wait it out. I think we should probably get a bite to eat before we go down. Are there any places open right now?"

"Well, no. Nothing's open besides the big donut, and I'm not supposed to eat sweets that late. We can eat here, though. There should be plenty of food in the fridge, unless Amethyst got hungry again."

"Well… Let's see what we can make." Daniel starts rummaging through the fridge. "Eggs… Milk… Is that a thumb?" You see pearl walking up to him. She taps him on the shoulder.

"Why don't you let me cook for you two? I'll make grilled cheese."

"Uh… sure, I guess. White offered to help me cook, but okay. If you want."

"Oh it's no problem. I actually enjoy cooking. I just hate the actual eating part."

"Well, thanks for cooking. And… sorry for… endangering Steven earlier." Daniel turns and walks to the couch. You join him. Pearl turns on the stove.

"Garnet told me what you and her talked about while I was scolding Steven. I understand now that you had no intention of letting Steven come to harm. As long as you realize that you could have put Steven in danger, and think of how we'd react before you do anything like that again, then I accept your apology. I would also like to issue an apology of my own. To White Quartz and you both. I'm sorry for trying to attack you when we first met. I still stand by my opinion that it was an appropriate response, but sometimes what's appropriate is not always what's best." Pearl stacks some sandwiches on a plate. "Alright, the sandwiches are finished. Help yourselves." Pearl starts washing the dishes she used.

You get up and grab the plate and bring it to the couch. You hold it out to Daniel and he grabs one. You grab another before setting the plate on the table and sitting back down. "So, I've been wondering, what sort of powers does White Quartz have? I mean, I have my tears, and you did say White Quartz was my Mom's sister so wha—"

"You told him that Rose Quartz and White Quartz were sisters?" Garnet is suddenly standing behind you, looking at Daniel.

"Uh, it might have slipped out at the hospital while I was high on pain meds. Sorry." Daniel rubs the back of his head. He's so weird saying that. He wasn't even on any pain meds for the most part. Garnet's shaking her head.

"It's okay Garnet, He was really out of it. I would have pieced it together anyways with what she said to you guys earlier today anyways." Garnet seems to think at that, before nodding.

"You do have a point there. Okay." You turn back to Daniel.

"So what powers does White Quartz have?" Daniel puts his hand behind his head and thinks for a moment. His face slowly turns to a frown.

"She won't tell me. She said she only uses her powers in emergencies because they're extremely draining on both of us, so hopefully you won't ever have to see her use them." He looks at the clock on the microwave. "It's almost time to leave." He turns to Peridot. "White Quartz says unless you want to sprint 600 miles in less than an hour, we'll need you to unearth the big one." Everyone in the room looks at Peridot. She's standing like a deer caught in headlights. Garnet is the first to speak.

"So you did hide that plug robonoid from us… We'll deal with that later. Unearth it so we can get to Malachite's den."

"Yes ma'am."

You all walk outside, noting the bridge of water forming out towards the sea, and Peridot pulls something that looks like a key fob out of her suit. She clicks it once and the sand around you starts shifting as a large green robonoid, about the size of Greg's van, rises out of the ground. She turns around. "One soon-to-be-confiscated plug robonoid, Portable outpost configuration." She places her hand on the side, and it it splits open like her escape pod. "Get in so we can go. I want to pilot it at least once before it gets taken away." Peridot climbs in and the legs of the robonoid flatten and elongate into wheels. You hop in after her and look around.

"Wooow Peridot! Why didn't you tell me you had this?! It's like a little RV in here!" Everyone else climbs in after you, and while it's slightly cramped afterwords, There's enough room for everyone to sit comfortably. Pearl looks around.

"I will admit, it is quite nice in here. I can see why you wanted to hide it."

"Let's just go. I just want this to be over with so I can go back to the bathroom. I'm probably going to smell like fish after all this anyways."

"Don't worry Peridot!" You say to her. "After all this is done we'll play smash together, okay?" Her eyes light up and you see a hint of a smile play at the edge of her face.

"Only if I get to play as Ness."

As usual. Whatever will get her out of her slump you guess. "Deal" Peridot immediately straightens up.

"Let's get going then! I can't wait to see what this baby can do!" She pushes her hands against a light blue holographic bar in front of her, and all of a sudden everyone is being pushed back into their seats. "Not too bad." Peridot muses while you're traveling along the path. "But not fast enough to make it in time. Let's reeeallly open her up."

Oh god. It's going to be the teacups all over again.

~~~Malachite~~~

 _'Are you sure everything will be fine?'_ **'As sure as I can be without future vision. White Diamond told me it'll be fine, and even though we can't go back, I still trust the promise of a Diamond.'** _'I'm sorry. I just don't know if I can handle staying in this cave if they reject us. It reminds me too much of being in the mirror.'_ **'Don't worry. If they don't want to listen to reason, I** **'ll** **MAKE them listen.'** _'Jasper, no. I'm doing this for Steven too. I don't want to give him any reason to hate me.'_ **'I don't know what you see in that kid… but fine.'** _'Thank you,_ _Jasper._ _'_

Honestly… you're scared, and the ongoing conversation in your head hasn't exactly done a good job of reassuring you of your plan. You're not scared because of the Crystal Gems, no. You could easily crush them if need be, even though you wouldn't. Not while Steven was nearby anyways. Instead, you're scared for other, more pressing threats.

Steven, for one. If things, get out of hand, Steven could easily be killed down here. To make matters worse, it's not like you have the best negotiation skills considering almost everything you know comes from a Hydrokinetic with PTSD and Homeworld's most violent general. Hopefully White Dia— Quartz can step in and negotiate on your behalf. It's probably better that way.

Another, slightly less pressing matter are the gems coming to earth. Ever since you were born, you've had the knowledge that cross class fusing was seen as disgusting and even treasonous on homeworld. Not so long after that, your halves (Should you call them your parents?) decided that being fused was the best thing since gem polishings, and decided to stay together. You can't go back. You know that, and they know that. The only options left should they come were to run or fight. You thought of the Garnet, willing to fight for her right to love herself. You thought of Rose Quartz and White Diamond, who loved humans so much they gave up their physical form to be a part of them. You looked at yourself, and decided you were worth just as much as them. You decided to fight.

You look around at your cave. In your opinion you cleaned up nicely. You went and stuck some fresh bioluminescent algae to the walls, pushed all the stones you play with to the back, and even went so far as to steal some chairs and a table from a seaside store for them to sit on. Time to get past the biggest hurdle.

'Guys, they might ask you to defuse when they come here. You know that, right?' **'What of it? We're not defusing.'** _'I understand. We can probably come to a compromise.'_ **'What?! You're not seriously considering defusing for them, are you? What if they hurt you?'** _'They won't. Not while Steven's here to vouch for us anyways. Just trust me on this, okay?'_ **'You know, most of these conversations between us end with you getting your way anyways… whatever. Just don't expect me to leave your side.'** _'I wouldn't dream of it. Besides, I never said we'd just defuse because they asked us.'_ **'** **You're being cryptic again.** **Explain.'** _'We're not defusing unless the Garnet defuses too.'_

You look at the limb enhancers sitting in the corner of the room. This is certainly going to be an experience, considering you're having guests at the bottom of the sea… most of which hate you. Well, you can't make any progress by sitting in a cave by yourself. Maybe they'll help you fix your voice. You always wondered why your voice sounded like it does.

You reach out through the water around you and feel out for them, trying to figure out how long it will take for them to get above you. They're close. Close enough that you can feel both of your progenitors (Parents?) getting nervous.

'It's time. I hope you guys are ready, because I have a feeling that no matter what happens, this will be the last we ever see of this cave.' **'Glad to know I'm not the only one who feels like that. Lapis, you ready?'** _'Is that a trick question? Of course not. I'm pretty sure none of us are ready_ _to meet them_ _, but lets do this.'_

You think for a second. This might be your only chance to say this out loud if this meeting goes south. These two should know how much they mean to you.

"Hey, Lapis, Jasper, before they come down here, there's something I need to get off my chest. I know you two didn't fuse by choice, I don't even know how you even fell in love, actually, but thank you. You two are the reason I exist and I'll always be grateful. I love you two, and we're gonna do just fine."

~~~Daniel~~~

"Guys, I think we're here." You look up from your lap and across Peridot's shoulder. You can see a hole about 50 feet wide going straight down as far as you can see. There's a floating platform in the center connected by a bridge to the edge.

"Well, THAT'S not ominous at all. She's really putting out friendly vibes with that hole to the center of the earth business."

" _You do realize that even though she's as intelligent as the rest of us she's nine months old, right? She's showing off for Steven. Don't make her seem like an ass, you jerk."_

"On the other hand… She could just be trying to impress Steven. He is her best friend. I think. We'll probably have to go on foot from here, unless you can pilot this thing on a three foot wide path." You stand up as much as you can, popping your back as you do. "Besides, piloting what's basically a SWAT van up to someone's door kinda makes a bad impression." You look around, waiting for an answer.

Peridot looks at Garnet. "I could set it to hover above while we go down, if you want. It won't go anywhere."

"Fine, keep it hovering, we'll take the lift down on foot." She looks at you "We're trusting you. Both of you. Don't keep anything from us while we're down there."

"Fine, but don't go in looking for a fight. We're in her cave, and we should at least be good guests."

"That's something I can promise you. We're going to attempt resolve this as nonviolently as possible. Now, let's get going."

"Gladly." You step out of the robonoid and walk onto the bridge. Looking down, you suddenly decide you need to get to the platform as soon as possible. Everyone joins you on the platform, and you start your descent to the bottom of the sea.

 **WOO! Another chapter done! I ran out of inspiration at first, but it's back! I'm ready to pump out chapters, and while I might not update on a regular schedule, I WILL see this story to completion!**

 **I AM AN ETERNAL FLAME, BABY!**


	6. Rock Bottom

**DISCLAIMER: A new world is upon us, and in this new world… I still do not own Steven Universe. Such a shame.**

"The trick was forgetting about what she had lost… and learning to go on with what she had left."

-Lisa Kleypas

~~~Garnet~~~

You're waiting for the lift to get to the cave, when suddenly the lift changes direction and starts going diagonally upwards. There are lights up ahead. You can see the surface of the water getting closer and closer… and then you're through. You're in a cave, about as big as the bubble room in the temple. Malachite is sitting in the middle of the cave like a cat, absolutely still, staring at all of you.

Before you can even greet her, Steven jumps off the platform and runs up to Malachite, causing pearl to squawk in alarm. This seems to snap Malachite out of her daze and she looks at Steven before leaning down to let Steven hug her face. After a few seconds she looks towards you again, and she straightens back up to her original position. After a few more seconds of this, Steven tugs on her arm to get her attention again, and she turns back towards him.

"It's okay. Just say hi. Everything will be fine."

"Uh, hi. I'm Malachite. Everything will be fine." Well then.

"We know. Is everything… okay?" She seems a lot more… apprehensive, now that it's not just her, Steven and Daniel under the pier.

"Uh, yeah, mostly. I just… I really don't know how to act around anyone besides Steven and Daniel, and my, uh, parents don't really have very nice things to say about you, either." She looks around the cave for a second. "But it's okay! I'm gonna make a good first impression, and then you won't have to hate each other!" She's so naive it's almost cute. Your heart went out to the young, strange fusion as you realized she was trying to make amends for your incidents with Lapis Lazuli and Jasper.

"Malachite, it's admirable that you're trying to lessen the tension between all of us, but you can't. Jasper hurt our little one, and Lapis Lazuli almost killed him." You can see her deflating as you tell her this. "The only ones able to atone for what they did are Jasper and Lapis Lazuli themselves."

"That being said, however... don't think that makes us hate you as well. You, even with those two being a part of you, are your own being. You are more than the sum of your parts, and it would be wrong for us to blame or hate you for what they did." She looks at you for a second, processing this information.

"Thank you… for not hating me. I know you're not all here just to retrieve the limb enhancers though. They told me we would be talking for a while, so I found some chairs for you guys to sit on while we talk if you want."

You look over to where Malachite motioned and saw a few chairs and a table from the Big Donut arranged near the far wall.

"You really went out of your way to accommodate all of us. Thank you." She visibly perks up at that, and shifts so that she's laying down in the floor. "Steven talks very highly of you, so we came to discuss where we all stand in terms of a relationship, and Daniel also told me Jasper wishes to talk to me personally too. Before we begin this discussion, I would like you to bring up any concerns… you… may…" You trail off, noticing she's looking past you. Just as you are about to call out for her, she opens her mouth, and Jasper's voice comes out instead of hers.

"Peridot?"

~~~Peridot~~~

Oh god, You we're hoping to avoid a confrontation with Jasper directly. A hand of water picks you up and carries you towards her. You look around and everyone is looking at Malachite ready to fight. You turn back around just in time to see her arms go over you. You have a short flashback to when Garnet squeezed you until you poofed before you realize she's… hugging you? And gently at that? "When I couldn't see you on the beach I thought you had been shattered in the crash. I was so happy when she told me you were still alive. I'm so sorry for failing you as an escort." You look around and everyone's looking at you two funny. The hug gets tighter.

"It's fine Jasper. The Crystal Gems and Steven took me in after they captured me. We're getting along just fine, Just stop crushing me." Malachite puts you down and looks at her hands. "Bah, I knew being like this was turning me soft. I just— I'm just glad you're safe. After all, you are still my responsibility." She turns to Garnet. "From one warrior to another, thank you for keeping my friend safe. I should probably… let you get back to the conversation at hand. But we still need to talk later." Garnet nods at Malachite and sits down on a beach chair. "Yes. We will, but for now we need to get down to the business at hand."

You look around for a second, spotting your limb enhancers laying in the corner. You turn to Malachite.

"Can I have my limb enhancers back now?" She looks at you, then the limb enhancers briefly before turning back around. She speaks in her normal voice again.

"Sure thing."

You walk to the corner and inspect your limb enhancers, looking them over for any sign of damage. There doesn't seem to be any external damage, so you place your limbs in the socket and power the limb enhancers on. Immediately after that, you walk around a bit to get used to the limb enhancers again. You can feel something… odd. Have these things always felt so… constricting?

Steven peels off from the conversation the Gems are having and walks up to you. "Hey Peridot, you look so… different! Are you happy to be tall again?"

Are you happy?

"I don't really know, actually. I'm glad to be of somewhat equal height with the rest of them, but… I don't think I really want to wear these that often. It's just not the same anymore, being in these. I didn't realize until now how much these things hurt to be in. I always thought the pain was normal, something that was always there." You flex your arm a bit, wincing as the lip of the limb enhancer bites into your elbow. Steven looks at where your arm went into the enhancer for a few seconds. Finally, he grasps the enhancer around the socket and pulls it off your arm.

"You don't have to wear them if you don't want to. I don't want you to hurt yourself trying to fit in with the rest of the Gems. Small Peridot is plenty tall enough for me to hug." As if to make his point he pulls you into a quick hug before letting you go.

"Thanks Steven. I don't think I can wear these anymore either… but I think I'll still keep them. I'll keep them as reminders of how much better off here I am then on homeworld. Besides, I only need the internal tools and some of the spare fingers to finish up Daniel's arm." You sit down and pull off the rest of the limb enhancers. "Let's get back to the rest of the group. I'll pick up the enhancers before we go."

As you and Steven are walking to rejoin everyone else, you look back at the pile of limb enhancers, then down at your arms. You can see your left arm already starting to bruise in a ring again. You look back at your limb enhancers again.

You really didn't need them anymore.

~~~Daniel~~~

'Maybe we should step in.'

" _Why? They're being plenty productive without us."_

Malachite and the Gems have been staring at each other for the past few minutes. The conversation hit a standstill when Garnet asked Malachite what the likelihood of her joining the Crystal Gems was. She froze up suddenly and hasn't moved since.

'They're not doing anything.'

"Not on the surface, no, but underneath however..."

'They're discussing?'

" _Arguing would be a better term. The Jasper understands that they've already essentially joined the Crystal Gems by renouncing their allegiance to homeworld, and is willing to work together as comrades, but the Lazuli is blinded by her fear and hatred of the Gems she thinks imprisoned her in the mirror."_

'Did they imprison her in the mirror?'

" _Of course not. Do you really think a rebelling colony would have the advanced facilities necessary to imprison a Gem of her power? No, She was put in the mirror on homeworld. I read the reports."_

'Why would they even need to imprison her in the first place?'

" _The Lazurite project was quite possibly the most limited quantity ever made of any Gem. They were designed and built specifically to terraform planets with organic life present. Only five were ever created, and of those five, only two survived incubation. They wanted her destroyed out of spite, because she refused to do what she was created for."_

'She refused to terraform a planet?'

" _She refused to terraform a living planet"_

Malachite begins to move again, and you focus back on her. She looks at you briefly, before meeting Garnet's gaze directly.

"The three of us had a… Discussion. About what and how we feel about becoming Crystal Gems. Jasper is… indifferent on what she identifies as. According to her, we already basically became a Crystal Gem when we renounced our Homeworld. Lapis, however, is reluctant to identify as one of you because of what you did to her. She wants to know why you stuck her in the mirror before she decides."

" _Tell her."_

"They didn't imprison you." Everyone turns to look at you. "Homeworld did. They imprisoned you in the mirror for refusing to terraform the earth. They wanted to make you suffer for disobeying their orders." Malachite stands up. "It's all true. White Quartz said so herself."

Malachite recoils like you just hit her, then goes quiet for a few seconds. When she talks again, her voice sounds strained, almost forced.

"Homeworld wanted to make you— me suffer? They did that… to… me? She… Knows. How?" Her gaze swings around to face you. She crawls over to you, and faster then you can react, she has you in her grip.

You hear the Crystal Gems' yelling coming from below, but right now all you're focused on is Malachite's face getting closer to yours. Then you hear her ask you, almost too softly to hear, in a voice you've never heard before.

"Was it you?"

'What do I do?'

" _Daniel, Let me take control."_

"Was. It. You?" You can feel her grip tighten around your waist. It's getting harder to breathe.

" _Daniel, Please. Let me take control."_

'Please, don't hurt her.'

" _I won't but—"_

"WAS IT YOU?!" Malachite's grip tightens around your waist again. You can feel something in your hip pop, and you cry out.

" _DANIEL, LET ME TAKE CONTROL NOW!"_

~~~White Diamond~~~

Oh god. What have you done. He's suffering for your actions again.

You can feel Lapis Lazuli's grip getting tighter around his waist. At this rate, his pelvis will shatter instead of his other hip dislocating. You look Malachite in her eyes, trying to reason with her.

"Please. Stop. Look at what you're doing. You're going to kill him."

"Then tell me." Malachite's grip stops tightening, but remains as tight as ever. "Tell me what happened, and tell me you didn't have a hand in that. Please."

"I'll tell you if you put me down. Please. He's in so much pain right now."

Malachite's face starts twitching, and when she talks again, her voice is back to it's original tone.

"I— I can't. If I put you down they'll attack me. She's so angry, I think she might make me fight back. Jasper's calmed her down for now. Please… What do I do?"

"It's okay. Just— Just keep holding me, okay? I'll fix this, I promise. I'm not mad at you, I swear."

"Okay, but… hurry. Steven's watching us."

Okay, time to think of something. You could just freeze everyone, but that could very well backfire. You could fire a wave and force everyone to their knees… but that would effect Steven too. Damn it, Why does every single option you have have to either effect Steven or deal too much damage. Looks like your only option is to calm everyone down. You look over the edge of her fingers at the Crystal Gems.

"I need you three to listen to me! Malachite is going to put me down, but I need you three to promise me that you won't attack her the moment she sets me down, okay?" Pearl starts yelling at that prospect.

"Are you insane?! She attacked you! Why aren't you fighting back?! You can stop all this!"

"I promised Daniel I wouldn't resort to violence! I intend to keep that promise until I absolutely HAVE to break it!" Amethyst is the next to step forward after that.

"Alright girl, you think you got this, I say you got this! Keep the little man safe, okay? We'll keep Steven safe, you do your thing!"

"Thank you Amethyst. Garnet, do I have your word as well?" Garnet looks like she's thinking.

"No."

"What?! Garnet, this isn't a joke! Daniel is seriously injured, and what's more, this time he's fully aware of what's happening! He can feel the pain!"

"Then tell me why you let him get in that position in the first place. Your future vision should have warned you of that!"

"I— I didn't see this. Please."

"WHY didn't you see this?! Or did you just decide not to tell us again?! Was Daniel getting hurt a part of your plan?!"

"NO! I would never hurt Daniel! I didn't use my future vision this time! I— I forgot!"

"Stop lying and tell me the truth! You're somehow obscuring everything I try to predict about you, and I won't go forward blind anymore! This was the last straw!" You can feel Malachite's hands start shaking.

"Okay… okay. I didn't use my vision… because I couldn't."

"You're still trying to lie?! You can't lie to me about this! I know for a fact that future vision doesn't just go away!"

"Garnet, please."

"Tell. me."

"Please… Can't you just trust me?"

"The last time I trusted you, you went behind our backs and took Steven to Malachite!"

"I can't—"

"You can't what?"

I can't use my full powers while he's awake. Not without the risk of killing us both."

The room went silent for a few seconds after you said that.

"Why not?" Garnet asks in a much softer voice than before. Malachite's hands slightly loosen around you.

"Because… of injuries I sustained in the great war over earth. My ship was shot by a light cannon barrage and when it fell to earth I was cracked internally." You point at Garnet with your free hand. "I hope you're happy. You forced me to admit my most shameful secret by using my own son."

You look down in shame, barely even realizing that everyone stopped talking as soon as those words left his mouth. Malachite even stopped shaking. Of course they did. Diamonds are supposed to have no flaws, so they must be anxious to hear how low one of the strongest Gems in existence has sunk. They must be ready to ridicule you, just like your sisters would.

"It's okay!" You look up. Steven is peeking his out from behind the Gems.

"I don't think any different of you! My dad always told me that shame is never meant to be directed towards yourself, only towards your actions! We're on earth, everyone has problems. But that's the thing about living on earth. We all have problems, and we all help each other overcome those problems! If it's something like a crack, it's okay! We'll fix it together!"

"I don't know if it can be fixed, though. It's an internal crack. Rose's tears could only fix cracks they could touch. I'll have to live with the fact that I'm imperfect."

"But nobody's perfect! Everyone has flaws, whether or not you can see them. Garnet has her flaws. Amethyst and Pearl have their own too. Even I have flaws. Why are you so ashamed of yours?"

"BECAUSE DIAMONDS DON'T HAVE FLAWS!"

You can see Steven back away at that, but you pay it no mind as you continue. "And I'm not even sure I'm worthy to call myself a Diamond anymore! Look at me now! I've failed in every single way possible! I lost a war! I got cracked, I fell in love with the species we were trying to exterminate, I chose a human as my heir, I cared for a Gem beneath me, I have to take energy from a human to survive, and I even failed to die when my ship was shot out of the sky! Ever since I lost the war I've done nothing right except save Daniel's life. I'm a failure."

Malachite sets you down on the ground and backs away. Nobody makes a move to attack her. The Gems and Steven walk up to you, and you can't meet their gazes. Finally Steven says something.

"You're right. You saved Daniel, You cared about someone else, and you learned to love humans. Those don't sound things a Diamond would do." Steven walks up to you and licks his hand. "Those sound like things a good person would do, and for what it's worth, I think you're a pretty good person." He places his hand on Daniel's leg, and you can feel the bone relocating painlessly. "And don't ever say you failed by not dying, ever again."

You stand up, shaking a little as your leg finishes healing up. You turn towards Steven and give him a hug. "Thank you. You're the only person I've ever known besides Rose Quartz to ever call me a good person. I'm so sorry I hid my identity from you. From now on, since I have nothing to hide, I promise you a Diamond's promise that I will be honest. Now, however, I need to talk to Malachite. I need you to go help Peridot while I'm doing this. I think she needs it."

Steven turns around to see Peridot curled up against the cave wall, hyperventilating. He gives you a thumbs up and runs to go help her out. The other Gems stay where they are, as you turn and walk towards Malachite.

" _Y'know, for what it's worth, I think you're a good person too, but you have a lot of questions to answer after we're done here."_

'Now you decide to speak? I'll answer all your questions after this.'

" _Not just from me. I told Steven that Rose Quartz and White Quartz were sisters, now you blurt out that White Quartz is actually White Diamond. If he's half as smart as I think he is, he'll start making connections."_

'You can thank Garnet and Lapis Lazuli for that. You two weren't supposed to find out for at least another month who we were. I really hate it when things don't go to plan.'

You approach Malachite from the front, holding out your hands as a gesture of goodwill. She's sitting against the wall crying while clutching her head. You decide to start the conversation off slowly.

"Are you okay?" She opens her eyes and looks at you.

"I'm disgusting. I almost killed someone."

"Well to be honest, if it weren't for Daniel making me promise not to use violence, I probably would have destabilized you as soon as he gave me control."

"So why are you still here then? I won't get to live on the surface now, and you already got her limb enhancers. There's no reason for you to stay here."

You pause for a moment and check on your energy levels. You're still topped off? What the hell was in that energy drink anyways?

"If I just wanted her limb enhancers I would have asked you to bring them up when you visited Steven on the surface. I came down here for you, Malachite. I'm not going back to the surface without you. I'm at least going to see that part of the plan through."

"…Why do you care about me so much?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes!"

"Well… It actually has to do with how Lapis Lazuli and Jasper were made. You see, high level Gems such as a General, or a colony's governor weren't made in bulk with the rest of the various Gems walking around homeworld. They were made to order, by me. Back on homeworld, I was in charge of all aspects of Geological research and engineering. I chose which traits to make dominant, which traits to get rid of completely, what types of Gems they would be attracted to and so on. Both Lapis Lazuli and Jasper were made by hand, by me."

"So you're saying… you designed their love? You made them compatible with each other?"

"Actually, just the opposite. I intended for Lapis Lazuli to fall in love with a Moonstone, and for the Jasper in you to lean towards a Citrine. But here we are now, in a cave, at the bottom of the sea. The love between those two Gems is an anomaly, and for all intents and purposes shouldn't have happened. Looking at you, however, I can see just how perfect they are for each other."

Malachite's sitting upright staring at you with rapt attention. You can see the joy in her face as she opens her mouth.

"Does that mean you didn't hurt them because you love them?"

"Exactly. I love every Gem I create so much. I'm so proud of both of them, knowing that they created such a beautiful fusion together."

Malachite is practically bouncing at this point. You turn around and see all the Gems actually smiling at her antics.

"So if you made them, does that make you their mother?"

"As much as it makes both Lapis Lazuli and Jasper your mothers. Now… I still owe Lapis Lazuli an answer. She deserves that much."

As soon as the good mood was there, it vanished, and Malachite's smile vanished as well.

"Oh."

"You know, my sister and I were never considered 'proper' diamonds by our other sisters. Rose because she was too kind for her own good, and me because I was rude, vulgar and I let my emotions control me. I was sitting in my study, analyzing a piece of bismuth, when the call to make an entirely new gem, without any reference points or starting substructure came in. You have no idea how excited I was, to finally have something new to work on."

"She was created as part of a project codenamed Lazurite. The goal was to make a gem capable of terraforming a planet using only the planet's own components. She was one of only five gems to ever be created through this project, each gifted with a kinesis of a certain type. There were only two survivors from the entire batch, and one was corrupted outright by the sheer strength of her own powers. We shattered that one and moved on to Lapis Lazuli – 04, the final gem in the batch."

"I helped her grow into a powerful gem. I watched as her powers outgrew every limitation I had set. She grew powerful enough to strip any planet with even a moderate amount of water on it in less than a week's time. But as her powers grew and were put to use, she developed something else I thought impossible. She developed a conscience. I was of course proud, as I was of any gem that grew past it's boundaries. The other Diamonds were… not so happy with this development."

"They petitioned me to remake her personality and remove her morals, but I was invested in her by that point, considering I helped raise her from a gemling. I… partially lied and told them that because of her unique way of being made, reprogramming her wasn't an option. They accepted that and allowed her to continue as she was, until she outright refused to terraform a small, backwater planet with hairless primates on it. I'm pretty sure you know what planet I'm talking about."

Malachite's face was scrunched up, showing how hard she was working to place the pieces of the puzzle together.

"That was the last straw for the other Diamonds. They brought Lapis Lazuli up to my private research facility and demanded that I deal with her personally, because I was the one who created her. I took her and told them I would make sure she was dealt with. She knew what was going to happen, so you could say she was shocked when I opened my hands and she was in my study instead of a lab table. I told her outright that the other Diamonds wanted her destroyed, and that I had no intention of killing her. I told her that I had decided to give her something powerful instead. Something normally reserved for Diamonds exclusively."

"What did you give her? Was it a weapon?"

"I gave her freedom. I told her she could decide her own fate instead of me."

"What did she decide?"

"She didn't decide anything. She froze up and didn't speak at all for about 5 cycles. When I came back on the sixth, she asked me to give her some options. She had no idea what the concept of free will was, so she asked me to give her a choice, and that I did."

"I gave her three options, because those were the only ones my sight told me wouldn't fail. The first option was to just disappear. I would let her go, and the other Diamonds wouldn't be any the wiser. She called that option cowardly. The second option was to shatter her gem. Instant euthanasia. She obviously didn't like that. The third option was to stay in my laboratory as a permanent assistant. Needless to say she readily accepted the opportunity to work with the gem who raised her."

Malachite raises her hand.

"Yes?"

"I don't understand. If you took her on as an assistant, how did she get trapped in the mirror?"

"I'm about to get to that right now."

You look around. All of the gems, as well as Steven were now either sitting or standing close to you to listen to the story. Looks like you needed to choose your names more carefully now.

"Lapis Lazuli and I made wonderful strides in Geo-engineering and research. She was almost more responsible for my research than I was, but… I could see it in her eyes. After four hundred years of constantly being in a lab, she was tired. At this same time, civil unrest was high because the rebellion was in full swing. I was sent in to reason with Rose Quartz, to convince her to return home, but I had a plan. I offered Lapis Lazuli another set of options. Option one was to stay at the lab and research in my stead while I went to go negotiate with Rose."

"Option two was to smuggle Lapis Lazuli on board my ship in an inanimate object of her choice. I would let Rose Quartz know who she was and ask her to release and care for her. Guess which option she chose?"

"But… if she chose that… why can't she remember?" Malachite looks like she's having trouble coping with all this information.

"She didn't want me to fall with her if she were caught. She asked me to erase all memories she had of me. I understood that this was also for her sake as well. After all, she would likely never see me again after this. I took her memories, but instead of destroying them, I stored them in a dummy gem in my lab, in case my Lazuli ever came back to me…"

"Do you know what— what her last request of me was, before I took her memories? She looked at me and asked me to hold her, and tell her that everything would be alright..."

You can feel tears going down his face again, but looking up, it seems you're not the only one having problems. Malachite is openly sobbing at what you're saying. The next thing you say is directed directly towards Lapis Lazuli.

"I placed your gem inside the mirror, and smuggled it onto the ship in a container marked diplomatic gifts. When my ship was shot down, the first thing I did after I recovered was look through the ship for you. The entire ship had already been raided by a Crystal Gem scavenger team. The only rooms they hadn't managed to breach were my quarters. You were gone, and I was cracked and stranded on an alien planet full of hostile gems."

"I hugged you and promised you that everything would be alright, that you'd be happy with your new life. I couldn't even keep that promise. If you're going to blame anybody for trapping you, blame me."

Malachite is silent for a few moments before speaking.

"Well you kept your promise… mostly. She may be in a cave at the bottom of the sea… but she's happy here. She has Jasper, Steven, and you're here, even though she can't remember you. She doesn't blame you. She says she's sorry for hurting your son, and that she's sorry she's too much of a coward to tell you herself. She also says she's willing to move forward, and she'd be honored to join the Crystal Gems… If they'll still have us."

You feel a hand poking Daniel's back and turn around. Steven is right behind you. How is that kid so quiet?

"You said you kept her memories in case Lapis came back. Why didn't you just use your future vision to see if she would?"

"Lapis Lazuli was the only gem besides your mother who I considered a friend. She was honest, kind, and most of all… she wasn't afraid to argue with me. Having her in my home was the most fun I'd had in millennia. I chose not to look because… if she was destined to never come back, knowing would only hurt more."

"I need you to go… talk with Peridot again. I need to talk to the Crystal Gems alone."

"Oh, no problem. Just… I don't care if you're a Diamond. I still trust you."

Steven walks back to Peridot, and you turn to the Crystal Gems.

"Well there you have it. We have Peridot's limb enhancers, Malachite almost crushed my son, You used my own son against me, I reunited with my Lazuli, and Malachite and I are Crystal Gems now. Is everyone happy with this outcome?"

"I—"

"Garnet I swear to Space Jesus if you say no again I'll sneak her into my room."

"...Fine. I suppose you five deserve a break. Malachite, from now on, you three can consider yourselves Crystal Gems. I am honored to welcome you into our family." Garnet turns to you "White Diamond, while I am honored to welcome Daniel into our group, I am very sorry to say that we have a 'No Sociopaths or Diamonds Allowed' policy. Too bad you're not, say… a Quartz. And you're a sociopath."

"You're not seriously doing this to me, are you? I just poured my heart out in front of everybody here, and you made me grovel for my son's safety. I will literally flip your temple if you do this to me."

"I suppose… I can make an exception. Just this once of course, because Steven really seems to like you." She holds out her hand. "Welcome to the Crystal Gems, White Diamond."

You shake her hand. "Let's go home. I'm worn out."

"You know, I think I understand now what's different about you. There never was anything to change, was there? You just finally got the chance to be yourself."

"Not quite. I may have had a love for Lapis Lazuli and my sister, but I was still a Diamond. Daniel was actually a big part of my change. Before I lost the ability to project my own form, I was originally planning to destroy this entire planet from the Lunar base. When he found me, he gave my life a new purpose."

"Daniel found you? I thought it was the other way around?"

"There's a lot I don't tell you. I have nothing against you, but some things were too… personal to share at that time. I think— I think it's time Steven learned the truth. He's gotten so many clues tonight, I'd rather he hear it from us than figure it out himself and hate us for lying to him."

Garnet looks at you for a second, then nods. "You're right. This has been kept hidden from Steven for long enough. Just be ready."

"Be ready for what?"

"I expect you to tell us the rest of the story you started, for one. I also expect you to teach him about his heritage and… Pink Diamond."

"Deal… You know, Daniel wanted me to apologize for threatening you earlier. I really, really don't want to. Not because I hate you or anything, but I've probably shown enough emotions for a night. I'll tell you what though, you get one freebie. You know what I was capable of back on homeworld, so any time Daniel is asleep, and I can use my full powers, just ask. I'll help to the best of my abilities."

"Does Steven get a freebie as well? He did get in trouble because of you."

"He's Steven. He gets as many freebies as he wants from me."

"You're gonna spoil him."

"That's the plan. I think I'll make him call me auntie."

"Never mind."

"Never mind what?"

"You're not a sociopath… You're just insane."

"Meh, it comes with the Diamond package. But really, I don't plan on just spoiling him."

"Good."

"Malachite and Daniel would feel left out. I'm planning on spoiling all three of them."

 **YAY BACKSTORY! I planned on making this a small transition chapter, but I guess feels work too. I always thought Lapis Lazuli was a unique or semi unique gem, so I worked it into her back story.**

 **Fun fact #1: An internal crack in a gem is known as an inclusion.**

 **Fun fact #2: The only ship I've decided on is Jaspis. I will literally roll dice for the others. (Not really.)**

 **Fun fact #3: When I wrote in White Diamond, I was planning on making her A COMPLETE DICK. She sorta evolved on her own in my head towards 'Insane aunt who used to commit genocide but now is totally radical and awesome but still kind of a dick'. Yes she's insane, and yes she rocks it, but she's the fun kind of insane. She knows how to act around Steven, though. (She's also incredibly depressed and is carrying a lot of emotional baggage as you saw here.)**

 **Anyways, I might start that whole "Quote before every chapter" schtick I see some people doing, or I may not. Tell me what you think.**

 **Peace out!**

 **PS., Let me know if I made any grammatical or other mistakes. I proofread the chapter before posting, but I might not catch everything. Also, just give me your general thoughts about the story. I want to know if I'm doing a good job.**


	7. Happy Birthday?

**DISCLAIMER: Hey look, the hiatus is over. Cool. I don't own Steven Universe.**

"I belong to the people I love, and they belong to me. They, and the love and loyalty I give them, form my identity far more than any word or group ever could." — Veronica Roth

~~~Steven~~~

"No, no no. This wasn't my work. I would never do something like this."

White Diamond hands back a finger tablet with data on the cluster on screen back to Peridot. She looks at Garnet and shrugs, then gestures with her hand.

"Too many stress points. If I had done it, it would have been a smooth, seamless gem. This is much to shoddy to have come from me. This looks like someone took my research and used it like an idiot."

Two days had passed since returning from Malachite's cave, and The Gems and White Diamond have been discussing a plan of action. Daniel apparently suffered the worlds worst caffeine crash minutes after you guys got back, and White Diamond's been using that to her advantage and setting up shop in the temple. It's weird though. She won't let anyone in their room, not even you. Maybe she's just waiting for the right moment to show you.

"Glad to know you disapprove. Peridot can give you more information later. Now, time to call the meeting."

Call the meeting? Did they find a solution for the incoming gems already?

"Steven, could you round up everyone and bring them to the beach? There's something we need to discuss."

"No problem Garnet, I'll grab Amethyst and Pearl. Malachite's already sleeping on the beach."

"Actually, could you go bring Greg instead? White Diamond and I will gather the other gems."

"Sure! Can we make burgers if dad's coming too?"

"I don't see why not, but Greg will have to grill them this time. Pearl will have another panic attack if I ask her to do that again."

"Awesome! I'll be right back! Don't start the meeting without me!"

You run out of the house and down the stairs, heading towards the car wash to get your dad. You pass Malachite rolling in the sand. As you run, you turn around and see her waving at you. You wave back and turn back towards the city, pushing yourself to go faster. You can see the sign in the distance as you get closer to the car wash, before finally turning the corner and seeing your dad's van parked off to the side of the wash. You run up to the van and start slamming on the back door.

"Dad! Hey, Dad! Wake up!"

You hear shuffling and banging coming from inside your dad's van. The doors fly open and he stumbles out looking half asleep. There's a piece of salami stuck to his beard, and his shirt's on backwards. Maybe you caught him at a bad time?

"Wuzzuh, huh? Steven? Where've you been? It's been two days! And why are you so excited?"

"C'mon, we need you on the beach! The gems want you to come to a meeting with them, and I want you to make burgers!" He yawns, finally noticing the deli meat on his face and throwing it off to the side.

"The gems want ME for a meeting? Am I in trouble or something?"

"They didn't tell me, come on! I want you to meet Malachite!" You grab him by the wrist and start dragging him down the street.

"Whoa! How's about we take the van, so I don't have to carry the pit across town."

"Oh yeah, that makes sense. Let's go!"

Dad loads the pit into the back of the van, then you both jump in and make the short trip from the wash down to the temple. You're just rounding the bend around lighthouse park when dad slams on the brakes and jerks the wheel to the side. Good thing you were wearing your seat belt.

"That's Malachite?!" Oh so THAT'S why he stopped. You can see Malachite rolling around in the sand, probably moving towards the warmer parts again.

"Yeah, She's kind of lazy. Nobody really knows why she's like that. She just naps unless we need her."

"She's half as big as the temple! She has to be a fusion, right? How many gems are in her anyways, seven?!"

"No, just two. They're nice though, so it's fine." Your dad thinks for a moment at that.

"Do I… know the gems inside her?"

"Well, you probably know Lapis, but the other gem is Jasper. She's really tough and… sorta mean, but she's getting better. Jasper's from homeworld, just like Peridot."

"Oh geez. You're saying you found the gems who tried to kidnap you, gave you a black eye, and broke my leg, and you took them in? Are you TRYING to give me a heart attack?"

"Please dad, Just give her a chance. She's almost never violent now."

"Huh…" Dad sighs, while pulling his hand through his beard. "Alright. I guess as your dad I should probably meet your new… buddy? Buddies? I swear, at this rate, beach city will have more gems than humans before the year's end."

You both get out of the van, and you run ahead to go wake up Malachite while he gets the pit out of the back. You walk over to Malachite and start poking her in the side.

"Malachite… Hey Malachite. Can you come say hi to my dad? He wants to meet you."

Malachite responds by flopping over and pulling you into the sand with her.

"But it's soooo nice here! I just found a new warm spot I like! Just lay in the sand here with meeee…"

While it is very warm next to her, you wiggle your way out of her arm and jump on her back.

"But dad wants to meet you! He wants to know I'll be safe around you!"

Malachite cranes her head behind you towards your dad's van. She stares for a few seconds before looking back at you.

"Didn't Lapis flip his van?"

You look back towards the van and see your dad already carrying the pit and all the charcoal towards the both of you. "Well yeah, that's why he wants to know if I'm safe around you."

"Huh? Of course you're safe around me. I'm the biggest gem here. Does he think I'm incapable of keeping you safe?"

"No, that's not the issue, it's more like—"

"It's more like I want to know I can trust you not to hurt my son." You look down off Malachite's side and see your dad starting to load charcoal into the pit. "Forgive my skepticism, but I don't quite know if I can trust that the two of you won't hurt him."

"But… why? I don't understand. Why would I hurt Steven?"

"I don't know if YOU'D hurt Steven…" He looks at you hanging off Malachite's back for a second.

"No, you seem fine. I'm worried about the other gems inside you. Jasper tried to kidnap Steven, and Lapis tried to drown him. I mean, come on, it took me almost a month to warm up to Peridot, and she's harmless… mostly. Not to be a jerk or anything, but I'll be keeping an eye on you guys."

"Uh… does that mean we're cool? 'Cause I really don't want to leave."

"Do I look like I'm in any shape to kick you out?" Your dad looks around for a second. "Hey Steven, I thought there was going to be a meeting, where is everyone?"

"They're inside arguing with each other about whether or not they'll actually have the meeting." Malachite tells him. "I'm too big to fit in the temple, so I get to stay out here and sleep. Actually..." Malachite sits up, and you slide off her back and into the sand. She turns around and lays back down facing you. "You know what the meeting's about, right? About the stuff that went on down below?"

"You mean about White Quartz actually being a Diamond, how you squeezed Daniel like a tube of toothpaste, or how you're both Crystal Gems now?" Malachite turns away when you mention how she hurt Daniel, and you see Dad turn like he's about to say something to that, but he just shakes his head and goes back to starting the grill.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"Oh there's a lot wrong, I just can't figure out what to focus on right now. I'll have a meltdown later, because I can almost guarantee you, this meeting's going to give me a heart attack. Wait…" Your dad turns towards Malachite. "White Quartz is actually a diamond? As in a leader of homeworld?"

"Yep," She turns her attention to him "Or at least she was. We all thought she was dead, but apparently she's been stuck here on earth for the past couple of millennia. She's a lot nicer now than she was before. Wait, how do you kn—"

"She changed?" dad asks, cutting her off "Was she a tyrant or something?"

"Nah… well, yes actually. All of the diamonds could've been considered tyrants. She was something else entirely though. She was responsible for every new gem type made. After she disappeared, the quality of new gem types degraded to the point where we were pulling older gem designs out of storage because they were more reliable than anything we were producing at that point. Last I remember, her duties got delegated to—"

"Ahem." Greg calls for Malachite's attention. "I think we may be getting off track here. Was there a point to that whole… thing?"

"Well sorry Mr. Impatient. I was just trying to give you a little background on what kind of person she was, but I guess some people don't appreciate a proper story. Look, the point is, she experimented on and spliced different gem types together to make new gem classes. Her powers were… very useful for that purpose. With a single touch, she could completely dominate a gem's mind… or erase it if she so desired, leaving an empty shell perfect for experimentation. Her knife was another beast entirely."

That doesn't sound like the White Diamond you know. You tap on Malachite's side, getting her to look at you. "What was so bad about her knife?"

"Let's just say that there's a reason she hasn't pulled it out yet. It's the same reason her nickname was 'The Mother of Aberrations'."

"Well then." You turn around, and your dad's looking at you and Malachite. "Knowing that, I'm going to need you two to watch the pit for a few minutes. I need to go get a few things from the wash. Think you can handle it?" Malachite puffs out her chest at that question.

"Of course we can handle it! Do you take us for chumps?" Dad just shakes his head and turns to you.

"Make sure she doesn't burn herself too bad. I'll be back in five minutes tops."

~~~White Diamond~~~

" _Remind me again why you told everyone I was still asleep?"_

'Well you did only wake up a few hours ago, and you're still too weak to take control without passing out again. You crashed pretty badly from that energy drink, and while I'm running low on energy as well, I need to be there at this meeting.'

" _So… how bad is he going to take it?"_

'I… can't see the meeting clearly. I'm getting glimpses, but the whole thing is fuzzy. I'm sure he'll be fine though. That is, if the gems even go through with it. There's always the chance that they'll rethink the decision to tell him.'

" _What happens if they don't tell him?"_ You give the mental equivalent of a shrug at that.

'I'll flip a coin. Heads, I tell him myself, tails, I let him piece things together on his own.'

" _You'll flip a coin? Seriously? That has to be the worst idea you've ever had."_

'Well consider this then. If I tell him without the consent of the gems, I'll tear a rift between us that will never fully heal. If I allow him to find out on his own, He'll resent everyone here and think we see him as a monster. If this isn't a catch-22 I don't know what is. The coin just helps give me some semblance of plausible deniability.'

" _That sucks. Well whatever you do— whatever WE do, you have my full support. So… how long until I can take the wheel? I mean, I don't mind you piloting me around, not at all. I just sorta want to know because it's kind of… numb in here."_

'Well I do mind. I really don't want to be controlling you like a puppet. This feels… strange, like I'm not supposed to be doing this. I feel like I'm… using you as I would a tool.' You fight the urge to shudder at that thought. 'But it's either pilot your body for the rest of the day, or go comatose and miss the meeting. You'll have your body back before daybreak tomorrow, I promise."

" _Cool. I'll go back to spectating then… or I might go rooting around in here for some more of your dirty secrets. Call me if you need me."_

'Don't blame me for what you find in there. I'll be joining you in less than six hours.'

" _No problem… and don't try to kid yourself, You already looked at the coin toss."_

'Brat.'

" _Bat."_

'Love ya.'

" _I know you do."_

That whole exchange took less than two seconds. You turn your attention back towards the physical world with a small smile.

"Pearl, please. Rose wanted us to reveal this to Steven when he was ready. If we don't explain to him his heritage, he's just going to figure it out himself. We need to guide him through this."

"Rose wanted us to reveal it to him on his 18th birthday! He still had four years of innocence and now it's being threatened because this one—" She points at you. "Decided to scream that she was a diamond to everyone!"

Well… there goes your smile. You look Pearl dead in the eyes.

"Excuse me? How are you going to stand there and blame me for this? Daniel was being crushed, and Garnet wouldn't help me save him unless I told her what was going on! I think you can forgive the fact that I screamed that I was a diamond given that I was in the middle of the most terrifying moment of my life! Daniel could have been killed, and if you had attacked Malachite, she would have shattered you on the spot. She's NOT a normal fusion. Her consciousness formed on it's own, without any influence from either Lapis Lazuli or Jasper. She doesn't know her own strength yet." Pearl looks taken aback by this information, and Garnet simply nods her head.

"Look, I'm sorry. I had no intention of Steven, or even Daniel, finding out who I was for a very long while. It was my fault he found out, and I'll accept full responsibility for whatever comes of it." Garnet and Pearl both nod at that.

"Well… it's a start. But can't we just wait for him to grow up a little before saddling him with this responsibility?"

"What responsibility? He's fourteen. I don't think he's going to magically gain any responsibilities just for knowing his heritage. Will you see him any different knowing he is aware he's a diamond?"

Pearl jumps back as if you just slapped her. "Of course not! None of us will see him any different! He's practically our son!" You smile at that.

"Then what's the problem? I certainly won't think of him any different, and I'm damn sure Greg won't either." You cross your arms, ready to put the final nail in the coffin. "Besides… Have you ever thought of what could happen if you hide this from him and he finds out later down the line?"

The room goes quiet, the only sounds present being a low hum coming from Peridot's restroom workshop. Finally, Garnet speaks up.

"You saw something."

You nod, all traces of your new smile gone.

"Something bad."

You nod again. "I saw something... horrifying."

"Tell us. Now."

You look around and see everybody looking at you. Peridot even turned off the lathe she somehow got to the restroom and is peeking out of the door.

"He'll think we're afraid of him. He'll become so concerned with mastering his powers to keep us safe, he'll—" You jump as the front door slams open, and Steven sprints in. Oh god. He heard everything, didn't he? A quick glance at the other gems shows they share your thoughts. You turn back to Steven and brace for Maximum Feels.

"Guys! I need something for burns! Malachite licked the grill!"

~~~Amethyst~~~

"Guys! Malachite froze her head! She said the grill smelled good, and I warned her not to try, but she licked it anyways!"

Time to do what you do best. The rest of the gems needed to keep talking, and you weren't doing anything for the conversation anyways.

"Haha, Really?! She froze her head solid? I gotta see this! C'mon Steven, lets go!"

"Can you grab the burn cream? It looked like the grill REALLY hurt her tongue." You make a big show of rolling your eyes at that and pull the Trauma kit out from under the stairs.

"I guess… It's not like we're using these anyways… Let's go and fix the popsicle before she hurts herself any more." You hold the door open for Steven and as he runs out you turn and mouth a silent 'you owe me' to the other gems. As you turn back around, you're greeted with a sight that almost makes up for losing access to the conversation inside. Malachite is laying on the beach trying her hardest to act normal with a sphere of solid ice around her head and shoulders. You barely keep from laughing as you walk up with a duffle bag full of medical supplies on your shoulder. Steven is on her back hugging her from behind.

"Alright… Yo! M! Can you hear me in there?" Malachite turns towards you and nods her head. Or… attempts to nod her head anyways. She really just ends up bucking Steven into the water. "Thaw out your head. I got something for ya!" Malachite nods again, and you can see the ice turning back to water and streaming into the sand.

You pull out a bottle of Burn Cream and walk up to Malachite. "Hold out your tongue, and don't complain about the taste."

~~~Greg~~~

You really should have seen this coming.

Of course she was a Diamond. She straight up claimed Rose as her sister, even though Rose never told you that there were other Diamonds. Why wouldn't she be a Diamond?

You pull a small wooden box out of your safe, and think back to the conversation Rose and you had shortly after she confirmed her pregnancy. You had just bought an old decrepit car wash, and had begun the process of refurbishing it. Rose had approached you while you were sitting in the old office, taking it all in.

"Greg, we need to talk."

"Rose? Whats wrong? Are you okay?"

"Our child is coming into this world, Greg. I'm so much more than okay. I'm so excited, and happy, and ready... but… I'm also scared. For our child's sake."

"What's got you so scared? I promised you that I'd keep our kid safe even after you— Even after you're gone."

"I know, and I love you all the more for that, but… I need to tell you something about my homeworld."

You open the lid on the box and look at the contents for the first time in years. There's four smaller boxes, each a different color, and a small envelope. You pull out the first box, the pink one, and set it aside. That one's for Steven.

"On my world, I was known by a different name. I was known as Pink Diamond. I was a queen, Greg."

You pull out the second box, the white one, and read the word on the side.

'Len'

Guess it's obvious who this one was meant for…

"Why did I give it up? I guess… I was tired, Greg. I couldn't destroy another planet for the sake of expansion. I couldn't watch another planet die."

"If my homeworld ever discovers our child, they will be seen as an abomination. My Crystal Gems will be able to protect our child from most threats, but if something ever comes to earth that my crystal gems can't deal with, I need you to use these."

You look back to the other two boxes in the container, one a faded yellow and the other a deep blue. Considering who the first box was for, you hope to god you never have to use the others.

"You'll know when to use these, but if luck is on your side, you won't have to. If a powerful gem arrives, I want you to give the pink one to our child. The note's for you. If you never have to use the boxes, on their eighteenth birthday, I want you to give them the pink box anyways. Throw the rest into the sea."

You take the envelope and pop the seal, smirking at the pink fractals it makes as you break it. Looks like she's still full of surprises. The envelope itself dissolves into pink mist, leaving only the paper in your hand. You unfold the paper and start to read.

Hello Greg. Did you like the envelope? I wanted to make it

special for you, to make up for the wait. If you're reading

this, our son (Sorry! I asked Garnet!) is a beautiful man and

he's learning about his heritage. I'm so proud of him. I can't

hope to put into words how much I love both of you, and I

just wanted to say that even though I'm not there, I'm so glad

I had this child with you. Tell Steven I love him.

(Sorry! I couldn't help myself!)

-Rose

You turn the paper over and see another note written on the other side. This one is written differently from the other paragraph, and if not for the handwriting, you would probably have mistaken it for a note from someone else.

On the chance that you had to open this early, I guess you

realized what the other boxes were for. I have no doubt that

you figured out which box to use, and I'm sorry that I can't be

there to protect you and our son. My only request to you is to

not let who they were to me get in the way of protecting

our son. I may have loved them, but I love my son more. I

apologize for lying to you and I hope you can forgive me.

-Rose Quartz

You're about to put the chest back and close the safe when suddenly a thought pops into your head. Steven likes her… or at least trusts her, but from what rose told you, the Diamonds weren't above deceit.

Then again, it's not really her alone. Daniel's in there too, and honestly, you don't know if you can kick the kid out. He's not a bad kid, but can you really go against your promise to Rose? Would Rose give her sister a chance? Should you?

...No. There's too much at risk, and you barely know anything about this gem besides her name.

You need to get her to leave, even though you'd be… forcing a kid to live on the street. A kid with a very expensive looking diamond in his eye socket… And a severe case of smartass…

Shit. God damn this conscience.

Maybe she's honestly a changed person, maybe not. Honestly it doesn't really matter. You made a promise to Rose and you intend to keep your son safe. You need to make sure this box gets to White Diamond…

But Rose never said you couldn't let them stay.

~~~Steven~~~

"So how do you feel?"

Amethyst went back inside, and Malachite's been sitting and letting the burn cream do it's job for the past five minutes. By the advertisement on the bottle, her burns should be soothed or you get your money back. She looks you dead in the eye.

"Thith thates like craf."

You nod at that, not sure what a craf is. Looks like it doesn't taste too good from the faces she's making. Speaking of taste, when's your dad getting back? The wash isn't too far away, and he took the van. You look back to Malachite. "The directions don't say you can wash it off now."

Malachite jumps to her feet and wades out into the ocean, completely disappearing below the water. You wait for a few seconds for her to surface, before a hand snaps out of the surf and grabs you. You barely have time to react before you're pulled into the water with Malachite. She pokes her head out of the water and looks at you, smiling like a madman.

"I guess I'm better now."

Two can play at that game. You look at her and smile, and prepare to ruin your friendship with her forever.

"I can tell. For a while back there you were looking a little… green around the gills."

Malachite stops smiling. The ocean goes still. Her face twitches a little before she speaks again. In Jasper's voice.

"Just so you know, this is all they'll let me do to punish you for that." Suddenly a jet of water launches you into the air, and as you tumble back to the sea a hand rushes up to meet you and transforms into a literal water slide to break your fall. As you reach the bottom of the slide, one of Malachite's slender arms plucks you up by the back of your shirt and pulls you close. She speaks again, this time in Lapis's voice.

"Just so you know, Jasper laughed harder at that awful pun than both of us put together." She gives you a wink and tosses you back in the air, where yet another slide comes up to greet you as you fall. This continues for a while, until eventually malachite picks you up again, but this time she places you on her back and starts moving towards the shore.

"Hey Malachite, what's wrong?"

"Look for yourself."

Malachite points at the house, and you can see the rest of the gems waving you over to the deck.

"Aw man. We were having so much fun too."

You slump against Malachite's back and let her carry you to the beach house, only getting up when she lets you slide off her back onto the sand. You climb the stairs, and… everyone's crying? This… can't be good.

"Guys, what's wrong? Are you guys okay?"

You're almost knocked off your feet when they rush in to give you the tightest group hug you think you've ever been given. After a few minutes, Pearl is the first to find her voice.

"We're just— so happy you're here. We love you so much, and we always will."

"I'm happy you guys are here too, but why are you crying? I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

"We know Steven, we know." Garnet responds. "But… we've decided that we—"

"We're gonna talk about yo mamma!" Amethyst cuts in, though not without some sniffling of her own.

"Amethyst!" Pearl looks ready to yell, before taking a deep breath. "Yes, Steven. We're going to have a talk about your mother. We were originally going to wait a few more years before telling you, but some events—" She pauses and turns towards Daniel for a second. "happened that convinced us to have this talk earlier."

"We're gonna talk about mom?" You think for a few seconds. "Are you guys okay with that? Dad says you guys get sad whenever he tries to talk about mom with you."

"Your mother is… a touchy subject for us. We loved her a lot, and it hurts to talk about her sometimes. That being said, this conversation is very important, so we're going to put our feelings aside as best as we can and just… talk." Garnet looks around, first to Amethyst and Pearl, then to Peridot, Malachite's face and finally Daniel. "Isn't that right everyone?"

A chorus of yeses is her answer, although Malachite raises her hand soon after.

"Yes Malachite?"

"Should I be here for this? I can take Peridot and leave if you want."

"I'm not going to force you to leave, but you don't need to stay unless you want to. Peridot has to stay though."

"What!? Why do I have to stay!?"

"Malachite joined us three days ago, while you've been a Crystal Gem for the better part of a year. She gets some slack, you don't."

"...Whatever"

Peridot sits down with her legs crossed, fuming. Garnet turns back to Malachite. Malachite Shrugs.

"I'll stay. No sense leaving her to wallow by herself."

"She stays quiet when she's mad." Garnet turns back to you. "I need you to stay calm no matter what happens. We're going to show you something, and then afterwords we'll answer any questions you may have. Are you ready?"

Are you ready? Your dad wanted you to wait for him, but you don't know how long he'll be gone for. You look at everyone.

"I'm ready."

Pearl stands up, and pulls a small sphere wrapped in fabric from her gem. She slowly unwraps the fabric, revealing a perfectly clear crystal ball.

"Wait, is that a crystal ball? Like, a MAGIC crystal ball? Can it see the future like Garnet?"

"Well, it IS a magic crystal ball… but for different reasons than you might think. This is a Memory ball. You can record events with it, and no matter how long it's been, they'll stay perfectly preserved until you're ready to replay them. This one was your mother's, Steven. She wanted us to give it to you when you were old enough. It's encoded to your mother's gem, meaning it will only activate for you." She holds the message ball out to you. "Go ahead, take it."

You take the ball in your hands and… nothing happens. You look around, and everyone's looking at you expectantly, waiting for you to activate it. Finally, after a few seconds, Pearl realizes what's going on and tells you how to turn it on.

"You need to grab it with both hands and twist the two halves."

You follow her directions, grabbing it on two sides, then twisting as hard as you can. Slowly, the ball twists, before splitting in half and slowly rising to hover in the air. The air seems to shimmer and distort in front of you, before lines of color run across it, like a television on an empty station. Eventually, an image starts to form, melting into place from the lines of color going across the screen.

It's mom. She's sitting down on the floor of her room, looking at the screen. You reach out to touch the image, and with a ripple across the screen, the image springs to life.

"Oh, it's never glowed that color before." She pauses and reaches over to mess with the Memory Ball. "I'm… just going to assume it's recording. Hello everybody, This is just a test recording that I'm using to make sure the device still works. If you're listening to this, chances are, it's Steven's eighteenth birthday! I hope everyone's enjoying themselves, and I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my little boy. Happy Birthday Steven! I already know you've grown into a wonderful young man!"

The recording stops, and slowly, the colors start rearranging themselves, forming a different video. She's still in her room, but now she's looking tired. You notice she's visibly pregnant now. You touch the image, and it springs to life again.

"Hi Steven… I hope you're doing well. I'm sorry I look a little bit… disorganized, but I'm getting weaker. I just wanted to have a conversation with my son, however one sided it may be, before I can't anymore. The doctors say that you're due in about three weeks, but with the way you're kicking I'm not so sure about that. I'd say…" She stops to pat her stomach. "two weeks at the most. Everyone's been so helpful, keeping me comfortable, but I can't say it's a happy couple of months. Everyone's mood is low around here with my upcoming… departure."

You feel a hand on your shoulder and turn around. Dad's here, and he wraps his hand around your shoulder, but he's staring at the screen. You turn your head in the other direction, everybody else is staring at the screen too.

"It's not all bad though. They're getting you out of the deal, aren't they?" She laughs, the lines under her eyes temporarily disappearing. "I think that's a pretty good deal, if you want my opinion. Now, let's get to the cool part of this message. I spent a few days trying to figure out what to give you for your birthday. I thought, and I thought, and I thought some more, until I figured it out. I'm going to give you a story for your birthday!"

Mom sits up straighter, moving some clouds into a small pillow of sorts behind her.

"This is a story of a Gem from a long time ago. She was powerful beyond any other gem, and while she was very, very aware of that fact, she had a softness to her that none of her sisters had. She died a few millennia ago, right at the start of the rebellion on earth, but her fall started a long time before that. This is a very personal story, as I knew this gem well." Mom smiles wistfully for a few seconds.

"This is the story of the death of Pink Diamond."


	8. Story for Steven

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Steven Universe. I also firmly believe Say Uncle is canon. Also, The Hiatus is back. Great.**

"Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related for better or for worse...and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum." - Rick Riordan

~~~Pink Diamond~~~

 **So… Where do I begin…? I guess the best time to start a story about someone's death is somewhat close to the end, so... that's where we'll start. The beginning of the end. Don't worry, I won't make you sit through everything. I'll try to focus on the important things. It was a… relatively normal day for Pink Diamond, normal implying that her sisters hadn't caused any considerable damage to anything, and her new pearl was due to arrive within the hour. Everything was moving forward, and she was relaxing in her room.**

Nine Hundred and Ninety-Seven… Nine Hundred and Ninety-Eight… Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine… And…!

"My Diamond!" Right on time. As always. You open your eyes and look at Talc. She still looks the same as ever, with her dark gray skin, speckled with flecks of other colors. She's such a unique looking gem. Shes bowing at the lip of your bath, waiting for you to acknowledge her presence. You wait a few seconds, and her eyes flicker up to meet yours, before quickly snapping back down towards the floor. You night as well get this over with. She'll stay like that until you respond.

"Yes?"

"The other diamonds are demanding an audience with you. They're very upset with the creature you and White Diamond made and released in the tower."

"We didn't make anything. I wanted a creature from that planet, and I got a creature from that planet. Len simply helped me… modify it to conform to the standards of our empire. I didn't even have to force her, she just wanted to see Melina's face when she found it. As for releasing it, I had no part in that. But besides that, what do you think of the creature Talc? Do you think it's disgusting?"

She looks uncomfortable at that question.

"I— I'm not supposed to have an opinion. Yellow Diamond gets mad when she sees you asking me what I think. She says a gem like me isn't kept around to form opinions. She threatens to punish me if I don't start acting like a proper servant."

You pull yourself partially out of your bath and look at Talc. Being a very soft gem, her form is very malleable, and a favorite 'punishment' of your third sister is to take advantage of that and humiliate her. You are very patient with your sisters, but outright abuse of other gems is something you have absolutely no tolerance for. She doesn't look deformed, but...

"Has Melina been squeezing you again? I already made it clear that I would not toler—"

"No Ma'am! I've been following your advice and staying near Blue Diamond when you're away. Yellow Diamond just ignores me when she sees me now. I'm… grateful that you asked her to care for me when you're away." She smiles at you, then realizes what she's doing and snaps her gaze to the floor by her feet.

"Hmm..." You recline back in the basin. "I wasn't aware that I had told you that I had asked Nilima to watch you. You wouldn't be eavesdropping on our conversations, now would you?" You say this even though you know she hasn't, partially because you like to see what she's been up to, and partially because she's just so cute when she's flustered.

"N-no Ma'am. I— I would never eavesdrop on your conversations!"

"That's a shame. Tell me, what do you think your job is here?"

"Ma'am, I'm a servant. I was made to assist you with anything you need."

"A servant. Interesting. Talc, you've obviously seen the servant pearls in action many times. How do they solve problems?"

"Uh… they use a lot of pearls?"

"Exactly. Pearls solve a problem by swarming it with enough pearls until it goes away. They do that because, unless it's a special order pearl, their intelligence is dubious at best. They're made to be disposable and easy to replace. Now, you've obviously been around not just servant pearls, but my sisters' pearls as well. How do they solve their problems?"

"They order the other pearls to do it."

"Again, Exactly. They're created intelligent, and they order the servant pearls to do the heavy lifting because of that. As the commander of our military, I'm not exactly a fan of leading from above. I lead from the front lines. So do you. You may not see it, but I watch how you work. The pearls absolutely adore you, because you have the intelligence to order them around, but you don't watch from my lap. You go work alongside them, and they respect that. They consider you one of them, even though you're softer. Are you understanding what I'm saying?"

"No… No Ma'am. I don't understand."

"They may be physically stronger than you, but you… you're strong in the real way." You tap her lightly on the forehead. "But… there is one other thing Talc."

You wave your hand and the door opens. You're not quite sure how to handle this as best as possible, so you decide to use the bandage technique. It'll hurt her more, but if you think about it too much you might not have the heart to go through with it.

"I've thought about it, and I've decided that for your own safety, I'm going to have to send you away from the tower. I won't have you being abused by my sister when she thinks I'm not looking. I've decided to station you offworld, and I hope for your cooperation in this matter. Report to the retasking nexus for your reassignment documents."

Wow. You can physically FEEL the mood plummet. Talc looks shocked for a moment as she tries to process what you just told her. Finally, something clicks and she utterly and completely freaks out.

"What? B-but I was made to serve you! I WANT to serve you! You—you've been so nice to me, and I—I was trying my best to be a good servant! Besides, Yellow Diamond will request my transfer to her division as soon as I'm reassigned!"

"No, she won't. I've already made the necessary preparations so that she won't be able to request you." Oh my STARS, why is this always so painful?! The longer she stays, the less likely it is you'll be able to make her leave. "Now go. I've made the arrangements for your destination, but if you keep them waiting too long, they might just decide to assign you to waste disposal once you get there."

"I… Yes Ma'am. I'll report to the retasking nexus right away. It was a pleasure serving you, and I hope you were satisfied with my performance. I'll… miss you." She turns and runs out of your chambers, not even waiting to be dismissed first. You frown a bit at that. Maybe you were a little too aggressive with her dismissal. You take a moment to calm yourself down after that… Ah well. It doesn't really matter anymore anyways. She'll brighten up once she hears where she's being assigned. You moved some high profile gems out of the way to station her where you did. She'll be happy there.

Now you lift yourself out of the tub and get dressed, looking forward to this meeting.

 **And so she sent her servant away. What she didn't tell the small gem was that she'd be seeing her again soon. Her old pearl had been destroyed while colonizing a world, and Talc had been acting as an interim replacement until a new pearl could be fabricated. The new pearl arrived less than a minute after the old talc left, and stayed with Pink Diamond until the very end.**

"Pearl?"

"Yes my diamond?"

You turn and look at your small assistant. She's been holding her position well as your assistant, even with all the pressure to fail on her from the other pearls. She's wearing a smaller version of your dress uniform that you'll have to thank Nilima for making later. Right now though, you are getting ready to take her with you to a meeting about several viable planets for colonization, even though you're not technically allowed to do so.

"You've been very quiet so far. Usually by now we would be deep into a conversation. Is there something on your mind?" Pearl seems to debate with herself for a few moments before answering you.

"Why do you collect specimens from the planets we colonize? I've been spending some time in the containment units, and I just can't understand why you'd want to keep them. None of them are special, and some of them are even violent. They're just… taking up space."

"Yes, I suppose they are just taking up space. Space which I had set aside specifically to hold them, so I could see them every time I went out to subdue a world for the colonist ships." You finish tying your sash around your waist. "I don't think you'd understand my reasons for doing this yet, seeing as you've been my pearl for a less than a quarter of a full solar rotation, but I suppose there's no harm in telling you."

You slip into your overcoat, straightening your lapel, before looking down. Your pearl is brushing her hair back, still listening to you.

"Every time we colonize a world we commit xenocide. We've destroyed countless species because they didn't fit with our plans for expansion, and we will destroy countless more because the planets they call home are rich with energy for creating new gems. My sisters never see this, and they don't care. All they care about is progress and delays. Black and white. They don't see that every time we colonize a planet, we deny that planet's inhabitants their future. We deny them their chance to see the stars."

"So… you keep them to give them a future?"

"No. Those creatures in there have no future. I made sure of that. They are the last of their kind, and they will never be seen again outside of that room. I keep those creatures there to remind me how much we lose every time we claim a new world. They're there to remind me that, even though I didn't kill them myself, I'm responsible for ending their species as a whole. No gem should have that much absolute power that they could destroy as many species as I have without remorse. They remind me not to lose myself."

"But why do you do this to yourself? Nobody deserves to be reminded of that! Besides, we're better than those creatures! We're gems! Those are just a bunch of carbon based lifeforms that eat and defecate everywhere!"

"And you're just a pearl. You're weaker than a quartz and less intelligent than an aquamarine, and you cant control your emotions. You can't ever hope to be accepted into a leadership position, and you're lucky you even found a topaz willing to teach a gem as low as you to fight! YOU WERE MADE TO SERVE!" You look at your pearl. She's letting her head hang and you can hear quiet sobs coming from her. "Does it feel good to be reminded that you're less than others?! That anything you can do can be done better by someone else?!"

"No Ma'am. I'm—I'm so sorry." You slip your hand under your pearl and lift her up until you're eye to eye with her.

"That's why you never focus on how someone or something falls short. You focus on how they strive to elevate themselves, and you help them along if you can. That's why I kept these creatures. Even though they're not as efficient as us, or as smart as us, or even as clean as us... they were trying. They each had their own little quirks that put them above the common creatures on their planet. Some sang, some had their own language, and some made the most beautiful art. You have this as well."

"N—No I Don't. I'm just a pearl. You said it yourself. I'll never be as strong or as smart as those other gems."

"But think of this. No other pearl has gone out and learned how to fight. No other pearl has ever gotten into arguments with a Diamond. Well… gotten into arguments and lived anyways. And I'm pretty sure that no other pearl knows how to interface with a technician hub. There's so much you couldn't do at first, that you learned how. And to top it all off, you learned how on your own. You've become greater than any other pearl alive, and I'm so proud of you, but just think of what all those creatures could have accomplished if we hadn't destroyed them."

"They could have been as great as us…" You smile at that, because she understood, even when your old pearl did not.

"Thank you my pearl. You're the first gem whose understood. I'm proud of you for that too."

You set your pearl on your shoulder, where she settles for the trip. You turn and, with a wave of your hand, the door opens.

"Now, my pearl, wipe your face. We have a long trip to the war room, and I want you to tell me about all the progress you've been making with your instructor.

"Y-Yes Ma'am! And maybe after, I could go along with you to feed the creatures this time?"

"I'm not sure you want to do that, my pearl. It's not for the faint of heart."

"I would be honored to accompany you to feed them. Maybe you could tell me about the planets they came from too?

"Hmm… I suppose some stories couldn't hurt."

 **Her pearl could never look at food again. The meeting they were going to was a standard, if very eventful, colony planning mission. They were going to decide which of the scouted planets was the most viable for their needs, and which were going to be placed on file for later colonization. If you had asked her yourself, she probably would have told you that something was off that entire meeting.**

"This planet," Len points towards a planet on the screen. "Has unknown minerals. I say we take it and see what I can make with it."

"Yes, of course. Let's pull valuable resources away from our fleet to see if you can slap a new gem together with the minerals you might find on that planet. Idiot. I propose we claim this planet. C9FC0Z. It has large concentrations of minerals that I could make more industrial gems with." Melina smiles, obviously thinking her argument won you over.

This argument has been going on for the past three hours. One sister would choose a planet they liked, and the other would attack their choice. Back and forth, back and forth. You look towards Nilima, hoping she'll have something to say for once, but she just shrugs, content to let your two younger sisters fight it out.

Guess you'll have to give them an ultimatum. Again.

"Len, Melina, I won't have bickering in our chambers. Either come to a consensus on which planet we will claim, or Nilima and I will decide for ourselves." Without a doubt, the decision will be up to you and Nilima… again.

"Her name is Blue Diamond, NOT Nilima," Melina starts ranting about your pet names. "And MY name is Yellow Diamond. I don't care how many times you refer to us by those ridiculous pet names, they're not going to stick." She turns to Nilima. "So BLUE DIAMOND, whose planet should we colonize?"

Nilima looks to be thinking for a while before she holds up a finger. "I like the name." Melina deflates. Nilima holds up a second finger. "We need more warriors. We'll take that planet." She points to the planet at the corner of the table.

You take a moment to go over the figures in your head. You haven't lost THAT many gems lately. By your count you still have enough to… Oh! She just wants them to shut up! That makes more sense! As if on cue, you see your sister give you an almost imperceptible nod.

"I second Nilima's recommendation. We'll take this planet. Give me any information we currently have on it."

Almost immediately, your sisters start complaining. You don't really care though. They'll burn themselves out and give you a farewell hug before you leave. Well… Len will at least. The screen in front of you flashes to life, detailing everything the probes picked up. A small message flag flashes in the corner. Apparently we had already sent a small team to terraform the planet beforehand, but the mission failed. Almost everything else is redacted, but another small note tells you that this is the planet you tried to use to test the little lazuli. You feel the corner of your mouth twitch as an idea strikes you.

"71.4 percent water by surface area? This could be a challenge." You point to Len without looking up from the screen. "I'm requesting one of your Lazulis for terraforming."

You could have sworn from the corner of your eye that her face went pale there… if a white face could go pale. She sputters for a second before answering.

"W—What? You know I don't have any more Lazulis. You sent me the last one to be disposed of a megacycle ago, and you never authorized me to restart the project!"

You smirk at that. It's so cute when she tries to hide things from you. Still, you can respect her privacy. You never wanted the Lazuli destroyed in the first place anyways.

"Oh of course, my mistake. I had completely forgotten about that." You point to Mel—White Diamond. "I'll take one of your death rays instead."

"Why must you insist on calling it a death ray? We've been over this. It's a Focused Microwave Emitter… and the planet has a moon, so I'll have the spire outfitted with it."

"Then I guess this meeting is finished. Begin the preparations for my journey. Len, I'll need at least four stasis pins to deal with the water, so please make sure they get delivered to my ship. I'll go shake down the reactors and make sure my crew is preparing to leave, and my ship will be off within three rotations."

You turn and walk out of the room. As soon as the door closes behind you, your pearl pokes her head out of your shirt pocket.

"Your sisters really like to argue don't they?"

"Yep."

 **Three days go by fast when your lives are measured in eons. The departure came all too soon, and while Yellow Diamond decided to stay in her chambers, Pink Diamond's other two sisters came to see her off. White Diamond snuck a few containers of what was basically gem alcohol onto the ship for Pink Diamond to find later, much to her delight, while Blue Diamond just gave her sister a hug and wished her luck.**

"I thought you said your quarters on the ship were smaller compared to the ones in the tower."

"No, I said they were cramped, and they are. Everything's cramped when you're my height. This is where we'll be living for the duration of the trip. This room is right over the command center, so if I send you on an errand and I'm not here when you get back, you know where to find me. Now," You pick up a command tablet. "Go stand by the lights, we're about to have a little fun." You request archival assistance. Five, four, three, two… You nod to Pearl and she turns off the lights just as a small hatch opens up to let the gem you authorized to enter your quarters in.

"Senior archivist Talc reporting as request… um… hello? Did… I get the room wrong?"

"So…" You say, doing your best impression of your sister Melina "You thought you could hide from me on my own capital ship?" You flick your wrist, closing the hatch behind her. "You thought I wouldn't be able to find you?!"

"I— I—!"

"You made a monolithic mistake when you left the tower. Care to take a guess what it was?" You walk as quietly as you can to the light panel. No small feat for someone your height.

"I—I'm not sure, but I can fix it! I pr—promise!"

"You left… without letting me say goodbye."

"I'm so sorr— Wait… what?"

*click*

"But since we're here already, I might as well say hello instead. Hello Talc."

"I… I…"

"Missed me? I missed you too Talc." You move in to hug your old assistant.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU STUCK ME IN ARCHIVAL!"

"…What?"

"Do you have any idea how boring it is in there?! I've reorganized the same databases over and over for the past three hundred rotations, listening to the same Calcite drone on and on about the practical uses of argon! Do you know how many practical uses there are for argon? Seven, and she's told me all of them. Multiple times. And don't even get me started on the bunking! I share a bunk with a Corundum and… and… I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU!" Talc falls into a sitting position. Looks like she overexerted herself again. You cross your arms and lean back against the bulkhead.

"So… feel any better now that that's off your chest?"

"Uh… yeah, yeah. I feel fine. I'm a little dizzy, but I'm fine." She takes a moment to stand up and dust herself off. "So… hi. It's nice to see you again. Don't kill me."

"Now why would I kill one of my senior archivists?" You give a little chuckle at that. Looks like she's changed a lot since you've last seen her. "It's not like you just screamed in my face, is it?"

You look at Pearl, and she's going positively ballistic. She's biting down on her knuckle trying to keep from screaming at Talc, and her face is turning an alarming shade of blue. Time to put your expert situation defusing/shipping skills to work. You reach over and pick up both of the smaller gems, being especially gentle with Talc, before setting both of them on your desk.

"Hug."

Two things happen simultaneously. Talc goes in for a hug, and Pearl freaks out and jumps away. Talc then proceeds to pitch forward and hit the floor. Wonderful.

"W—What?!"

"Give her a hug. She's sorry for yelling, and you want to strangle her, so logic dictates you must hug." Pearl looks like she'd rather jump out of an airlock, but helps Talc to her feet.

"Ow." Talc gets back up onto her feet, and starts rubbing her face. "I guess you're not a hugger, then."

"Here." Pearl pulls Talc into a hug. "Is this satisfactory?"

"Pearl, I'm going to be completely honest here. This grumpy hug might be the cutest thing I've ever seen you do, and I watched you hug Nilima when she gave you your dress."

"So..." Talc breaks off the hug. "This is your pearl?"

"Ye—"

"Yes, I am in fact Pink Diamond's pearl." Well that was rude. You're about to remind Pearl that you're the Diamond here when Talc repeats herself.

"You… are Pink Diamond's pearl?" Pearl cocks her head to the side when Talc repeats her question.

"Yeeesss? Are we miscommunicating somewhere?" Oh no. You know where this is going. You start shaking your head at Talc, trying to keep her from saying what you KNOW is coning next, but she doesn't notice you in time.

"But… she's pink… and you're white." You bury your face in your palm. Oh boy. Here it comes. You look at Pearl, and she looks ready to kill.

"How dare you judge me based on my pigmentation! I'll have you know Pink Diamond wouldn't have me any other way! I can't help that my culturing vat had a chemical imbalance, and if you think for even a minute th—" You curl your finger over your pearl's mouth.

"She's… sensitive about her coloration. I try not to bring it up." You turn your attention back to Pearl. She's currently doing her best impression of your almost silent sister. "Are you ready to behave now?" You get a nod back and release her finger. She immediately sticks her tongue at Talc.

"Hey. I'm sorry." The tongue retracts. "I wasn't trying to piss you off. I was just curious why you were colored the way you were. If I stepped on your toes, I apologise. I've… probably caused enough trouble, I should be getting back to archi—" Talc turns to leave right before Pearl grabs her sleeve. She's staring at the floor as she starts to speak.

"It's… not your fault. I—My culturing vat had a chemical imbalance. My tank's salt levels were too high, and as a result, I came out stained white. It wasn't found out until I had been delivered to Pink Diamond that I was… wrong. They offered to take me away and replace me, but she said I was perfect just as I was and kept me. I just assumed that you were mocking me for my discoloration like the other pearls. I… apologize for overreacting."

You can see tears forming on Pearl's face, and even though it hurts to see them, you're glad she finally opened up to someone besides you. Talc walks up to Pearl and gives her another hug and this time she gets a real hug back. Pfft… And Len said building relationships was hard.

"Hey, believe me, I know how you feel." Talc pulls away from Pearl. "I'm a talc. I'm not exactly the sturdiest gem out there. The only gems that wouldn't consider me beneath them were the servant pearls. Pink Diamond had me doing things I never even dreamed I could do! I mean, sure she sometimes had to dip me in her bath whenever I got too dented up, or protect me from her sister, or… catch me when I fell off her shoulder... but she never talked down to me for who I was. I felt like a bigger gem when I served her. I felt like I mattered."

"Well," Both of them snapped their heads around to look at you, and you almost felt bad for disturbing their conversation. "I guess you could say I'm not the pickiest when it comes to looks. I really did feel terrible sending you to my ship, but it was either that or let my sister use you like a stress toy, and it hurt more to see you limp into my chambers whenever she hurt you. I don't imagine you get squeezed much in archival, or anywhere else on the ship for that matter."

"Well, no. Not really. Everybody I've met has been courteous at the least. They really don't seem to mind me here much. The only time I've ever gotten squished was when my bunkmate accidentally dropped a weight on me, and she freaked out and carried my gem all the way to the medical wing."

"Of course they don't mind you here. This ship was designed to house about three times the amount of gems currently stationed onboard. Everyone who's stationed on this ship lives on the ship even when docked, and I handpick almost everyone who gets assigned here. It makes for a pretty tightly knit community. It's the gems on the other ships travelling with us that you have to worry about. Now…" You pick up a tablet and start looking through the cargo manifests. "I have a suggestion, but bear in mind I will deny this conversation ever took place if you ever breathe a word of it to anyone."

Ah, here it is. Right where Len hid it last time. "How about we make a trip to cargo hold F7? My sister left me a parting gift, and it would be such a waste to keep it to myself."

 **So the gentle diamond, her salty pearl and her squishy talc went and got absolutely sloshed in the cargo hold. Not the best of ideas, considering the drinks were meant for diamond consumption only, but certainly not the worst of ideas either.**

"So then Len comes running into my room screaming bloody murder, and all I can do is keep the other Diamonds out of the halls while she fixes the hole she put in the tower wall! I have no idea how she even managed it, but she had the whole thing patched up before the next guard change! Of course, our dear sisters found out, and long story short, she's not allowed to even look at pure sodium anymore."

"Aw… The poor thing didn't even know she was a walking bomb. How did she even manage to get the gem to last that long anyways?" Talc takes another slow drink from the cup you gave her.

"I thin—k ssshe made it do that thing." Pearl tries to sit up, but ends up laying back on the floor anyways. "That thing where it's one place… but it's not. It'sss somewhere else… Y'know? Can I have some more?" After she downed a whole bottle, you don't think Pearl needs any more to drink.

"She… teleported it? Uh… Maybe? I guess I'll have to ask her again. Hold on." You reach into your pocket and pull out your communicator. "Hold on…" You fumble with the screen for a bit before it comes to life.

"Wait… maybe you shouldn't call White Diamond right now." Talc tries to stop you from calling your sister. It's fine though. What's the worst that could happen?

You push the white segment of the screen. "Hold ooon…" The screen flashes, hurting your eyes a little, before showing you White Diamond's pearl. She looks quite surprised to see you.

"Hiiii. Can you put my sister on the line? I have a question of upmoat… uppermost… I have a very important question for her." She crosses her arms behind her back and bows before responding.

"My apologies, but she's currently in her private study right now, and she left explicit instructions not to be disturbed unless it's a dire emergency."

"But it's importaaaant! Tell her… Tell her..." You try to get your mind to come up with a good excuse. Oh! A dire emergency! "Tell her I was poisoned!"

Wait… this is a bad idea. You're about to tell her the poison wore off, but when you turn back to the screen all you can see and hear is the ceiling of Len's chambers and her pearl screaming in the distance. You turn to Talc and she her looking at you like you just lied to a Diamond. Ha!… Oh wait, you did.

"She's on the way, but… I think she thinks I'm dying. I'm probably gonna get yelled at." You hear rapidly approaching footsteps before the view swivels around to Len's face.

"Kalyca! Can you hear me?! Are you okay?!" She looks like she's trying to climb through the screen to get to you. "Don't do this to me! Respond, Please!"

"Hiiii Len!"

"…You're drunk." She sits back on her chair. "You're fucking drunk. Damn it! Do you know how badly you freaked out everyone in the tower?!" She's screaming her lungs out at you now. "Melina and Nilima are shitting bricks over here! Not to mention what was going through my mind after my pearl came in and told me what you told her!"

"'M sorry." Len sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. She takes a few moments to calm herself down before responding.

"No, you're not. You're just lucky you called me instead of one of them. I'll figure out something to tell them. How much did you have to drink anyways? I know for a fact that you didn't get like this over a single bottle." You look around at the bottles littering the floor.

"Uh… a lot?"

"Why are you doing this? You usually space the booze I give you whenever you find it, but lately you've been drinking more and more. Is something wrong?"

No, nothing's wrong. It just helps keep your mind off what you have to do when you arrive at the planet. How you have to destroy everything that planet holds, and grow your empire atop the remains. Nothing's wrong with drinking to forget THAT… right?

"I'm sorry." Talc crawls into your lap and waves at your sister. "We were going to… leave, but I asked her to tell… us some… stories. It's all my… fau—" She slumps down in your lap and starts snoring quietly.

You look back at your sister, and she doesn't look mad anymore. In fact, she has her hand clamped over her mouth trying to stop herself from laughing.

The Talc?! You got your old assistant drunk… with drinks made for diamonds? Congratulations sister. You're going to have a VERY hungover gem to take care of for the next three days. You might as well move her to your room so your pearl can watch her, considering you're the one who did this to her."

"Well… about that..." You turn the communicator so that she can see your pearl lying on the floor. "I don't think my pearl can watch Talc."

"Ahh! Hahaha!" Len's holding her sides, laughing uncontrollably. "You seriously got BOTH of your assistants piss drunk?! I can't believe it! And your pearl drank a whole bottle! You're gonna be on babysitting duty for a week! Ohhhh, my sides. This almost makes up for scaring me so badly."

"'S not funny." Now that you're thinking about it, the whole situation is pretty funny, but you don't have to let Len know that you think so. "It's crap. I don't wanna babysit."

"YOU don't want to babysit? We both know that's a lie, you love to take care of things. Anyways, I'm actually kind of glad you called. It was getting boring over here, and I guess I needed something to get me out of the lab. Just, please... don't ever call saying you got poisoned again. Ever. I don't hate you enough to want that yet." That's not as close as you'd like to get to her saying 'I love you' right now… but you'll take it.

"Well, I WAS poisoned, if you want to get into it." You pick an empty bottle up off the floor and show it to Len. "'M pretty sure this stuff is no good for you."

"Hmm. You know what," Len smiles at you. "You're right. I think we should play it safe. Let me just call the next highest ranking gem on the ship to help you to your room, unless you can get there yourself…?"

"No! I can walk..." You grab the wall and pull yourself up. Vertigo pulls you back down. "I can't walk. Call someone else. She freaks me out when I'm drunk!" Len cocks her eyebrow at that.

"What, why?"

"She looks like me!"

"She does NOT look like you." Len types in a command on the screen. "And she's your general, so I'm sure she'd appreciate it if she didn't have to help you back to your room, you goddamn lush."

"'M not a lush. I just got carried away this time. Won't happen again, I promise."

"…I've already called her."

"Damn it..."

"And stop trying to ship your pearl with everyone she meets. I'm serious this time." She reaches over to end the call. "You're literally just making my job harder." She presses the button and ends the call, leaving you alone with two passed out gems and ringing ears. Not even three minutes later, you can hear footsteps coming towards the cargo container you're sitting in. Oh boy. She knocks on the door.

"What's the password?"

"You should know that this container is on the jettison line, and I'm standing right next to the eject button."

"I can't believe it. You guessed the whole thing." The door opens up and your worst best friend walks in. You look at her. Huh, she cut her hair short. Besides that though, she's exactly the same as you remember. Tall, lanky, scowling, and very, very pink. "Now, Rose. I know this looks bad, but I can assure you, I had the situation under control the whole time."

 **Now this is where a funny little quartz named Rose joins the story. Needless to say, this is where the story gets interesting. Now, Rose was a friendly little jab from White Diamond to Pink Diamond. She made Pink Diamond a General that looked like almost like her, but with the personality equivalent of... sandpaper. As you could probably guess, Rose and Pink Diamond were besties.**

"I count seventeen bottles, eighteen counting the one your pearl is cuddling with. You'd better have a pretty good explanation, or I'm leaving you in here and writing drunk tank on the side of the container."

"We were drinking."

"...I hate you so much right now."

 **Hey, I'm not dead. Sorry for the delays. No excuses this time, I was just lazy. So, I've been thinking, what happens if a fusion gets corrupted? I bet it would look really cool, and I bet it would provide all sorts of plot advancement. I've actually had these last two chapters on my laptop for the past few weeks, but I wasn't sure they were up to snuff so I was hesitant in posting them.**

 **Oh also, In case it got confusing, Pink Diamond gave her sisters pet names. Len is White Diamond, Melina is Yellow Diamond, and Nilima is Blue Diamond. Pink Diamond also has a pet name that White Diamond gave her. Kalyca.**

 **Later!**


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